The Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (URECA) birth cohort study: design, methods, and study population

BMC Pulmonary Medicine

Table 3 Characteristics of the mothers and fathers of children enrolled in the allergic and non-allergic families cohorts (as reported by the mother at the prenatal interview)

	Allergic Families		Non-allergic Families
Characteristic	n	%	n	%
	557	100.0	49	100.0
Mother's age in years at child's birth
13–17	41	7.4	3	6.1
18–19	85	15.3	10	20.4
20–24	204	36.6	13	26.5
25–29	119	21.4	14	28.6
30–34	62	11.1	4	8.2
35–39	40	7.2	5	10.2
40–42	6	1.1	0	0.0
Race or ethnicity of mother*
Hispanic of any race	107	19.4	9	18.4
Black alone	390	70.9	39	79.6
White alone	22	4.0	0	0.0
More than one race	20	3.6	1	2.0
All others	11	2.0	0	0.0
Missing	7	--	0	--
Race or ethnicity of father^†
Hispanic of any race	99	18.0	10	20.4
Black alone	407	74.1	38	77.6
White alone	14	2.6	0	0.0
More than one race	20	3.6	0	0.0
All others	9	1.6	1	2.0
Missing	8	--	0	--
Mother's education
Less than high school	231	42.0	14	28.6
High school	183	33.3	23	46.9
More than high school	136	24.7	12	24.5
Missing	7	--	0	--
Mother's marital status at prenatal visit
Married	72	13.1	8	16.3
Not married	478	86.9	41	83.7
Missing	7	--	0	--
Mother smoked during pregnancy	97	17.6	6	12.2
Adult in the family with a regular job	366	66.7	38	77.6
Household annual income < $15,000	353	68.4	29	67.4
Number of previous live births
0	220	39.5	17	34.7
1	147	26.4	19	38.8
2	96	17.2	5	10.2
≥ 3	94	16.9	8	16.3
Number of children in household < 5 years old
0	277	50.4	23	46.9
1	180	32.7	20	40.8
2	60	10.9	5	10.2
≥ 3	33	6.0	1	2.0
Missing	7	--	0	--
Number of years at current address
< 1	185	33.6	20	40.8
1–2	142	25.8	15	30.6
3–4	72	13.1	6	12.2
5–9	72	13.1	0	0.0
≥ 10	79	14.4	8	16.3
Missing	7	--	0	--

* Determined by the open-ended question, "How would you describe your race, nationality, or ethnic background?"
^† Determined by the open-ended question, "How would you describe the race, nationality, or ethnic background of the father of this baby?"

ISSN: 1471-2466