Determining effects of areca (betel) nut chewing in a prospective cohort of pregnant women in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea

Table 2 Pregnancy and delivery outcomes according to areca nut use

Outcomes	Non-users		Occasional users (<1 nut/d)		Mild Users (1-2 nuts/d)		Moderate Users (3–5 nuts/d)		Heavy users (>5 nuts/d)		P^a	P^b
Miscarriage	0.5	(2/371)	0.0	(0/254)	0.6	(3/539)	0.2	(1/590)	0.0	(0/461)	0.34	0.27
Stillbirth	1.1	(4/371)	1.6	(4/254)	1.9	(10/539)	2.2	(13/590)	2.0	(9/461)	0.80	0.39
Congenital abnormality	1.4	(5/371)	0.4	(1/254)	0.6	(3/539)	0.5	(3/590)	1.1	(5/461)	0.52	0.19
Birthweight (g)	2966	[493]	2996	[507]	2928	[460]	2955	[468]	2971	[457]	0.49	0.76
LBW (<2,500 g)	14.5	(45/310)	13.8	(29/210)	15.1	(64/424)	12.1	(57/470)	14.1	(50/355)	0.76	0.71
Gestational age (exact weeks)	39.4	[1.6]	39.2	[1.5]	39.5	[1.6]	39.3	[1.9]	39.4	[1.6]	0.69	0.84
PTD (<37 weeks)	6.6	(14/212)	7.7	(11/143)	8.6	(21/245)	7.8	(23/308)	8.4	(20/239)	0.95	0.46
Male infant	39.1	(123/309)	44.0	(92/209)	44.2	(187/423)	48.2	(226/469)	46.6	(165/354)	0.21	0.045
Cord haemoglobin (Hb), g/dL	13.8	[2.3]	14.3	[2.4]	13.8	[2.6]	13.6	[2.5]	13.8	[2.3]	0.27	0.98
Hb, g/dL	10.5	[1.7]	10.3	[1.7]	10.1	[1.7]	9.9	[1.7]	10.0	[1.6]	<0.001	<0.001
Hb <11 g/dL	63.9	(182/285)	72.7	(141/194)	74.0	(279/377)	76.9	(326/424)	75.9	(242/319)	0.002	<0.001
MAP (mmHg)	85.5	[79.3–93.3]	87.3	[80.0–95.7]	86.6	[80.0–94.0]	84.0	[78.3–92.0]	84.7	[78.3–92.0]	0.003	0.41

NOTE: Data are % (n), mean [standard deviation], or median [interquartile range]. LBW low birthweight, PTD preterm delivery, MAP, mean arterial pressure
^aP-values for comparison across all 5 groups. Bonferroni adjusted P-value: 0.005
^bP- values for comparison of users (occasional, mild, moderate, heavy) versus non-users

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