Characteristics of the women included in the cohort at the first stage of sampling: (A) Demographic and pregnancy characteristics. (B) Asthma-related variables
| Pregnancies(n = 4561) | All congenital malformations (n = 418) | Major congenital malformations (n = 278) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFC, chlorofluorocarbon; ED, emergency department. | |||
| Data are presented as n (%) | |||
| *The average daily dose was 124.9 in the >0–500 μg category, 686.7 in the >500–1000 μg category and 1508.1 in the >1000 μg category. | |||
| A | |||
| Maternal sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age at beginning of pregnancy (years) | |||
| ⩽18 | 736 (16.1) | 62 (8.4) | 41 (5.6) |
| 19–34 | 3556 (78.0) | 331 (9.3) | 220 (6.2) |
| ⩾35 | 269 (5.9) | 25 (9.3) | 17 (6.3) |
| Receipt of social assistance | |||
| Yes | 4128 (90.5) | 375 (9.1) | 260 (6.3) |
| No | 433 (9.5) | 43 (9.9) | 18 (4.2) |
| Level of education (years) | |||
| ⩽12 | 3685 (80.8) | 360 (9.8) | 243 (6.6) |
| ⩾13 | 608 (13.3) | 44 (7.2) | 25 (4.1) |
| Missing | 268 (5.9) | 14 (5.2) | 10 (3.7) |
| Area of residence | |||
| Rural | 809 (17.7) | 60 (7.4) | 40 (4.9) |
| Urban | 3752 (82.3) | 358 (9.5) | 238 (6.3) |
| Pregnancy-related variables | |||
| Parity | |||
| 1st | 2716 (59.5) | 236 (8.7) | 169 (6.2) |
| ⩾2nd | 1845 (40.5) | 182 (9.9) | 109 (5.9) |
| Multiple pregnancy | |||
| Yes | 61 (1.3) | 19 (31.1) | 15 (24.6) |
| No | 4500 (98.7) | 399 (8.9) | 263 (5.8) |
| Maternal chronic conditions | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | |||
| Yes | 97 (2.1) | 14 (14.4) | 11 (11.3) |
| No | 4464 (97.9) | 404 (9.1) | 267 (6.0) |
| Epilepsy | |||
| Yes | 38 (0.8) | 9 (23.7) | 9 (23.7) |
| No | 4523 (99.2) | 409 (9.0) | 269 (6.0) |
| 1st trimester use of teratogenic medications | |||
| Yes | 107 (2.3) | 13 (12.1) | 11 (10.3) |
| No | 4454 (97.7) | 405 (9.1) | 267 (6.0) |
| B | |||
| In the year preceding pregnancy | |||
| Inhaled corticosteroids | |||
| Yes | 2153 (47.2) | 199 (9.2) | 138 (6.4) |
| No | 2408 (52.8) | 219 (9.1) | 140 (5.8) |
| Oral corticosteroids | |||
| Yes | 577 (12.7) | 56 (9.7) | 41 (7.1) |
| No | 3984 (87.3) | 362 (9.1) | 237 (5.9) |
| Short-acting β2-agonists (doses per week) | |||
| 0 | 1209 (26.5) | 112 (9.3) | 69 (5.7) |
| >0–3 | 1610 (35.3) | 152 (9.4) | 102 (6.3) |
| >3–10 | 899 (19.7) | 78 (8.7) | 57 (6.3) |
| >10 | 843 (18.5) | 76 (9.0) | 50 (5.9) |
| Long-acting β2-agonists | |||
| Yes | 48 (1.1) | 10 (20.8) | 5 (10.4) |
| No | 4513 (98.9) | 408 (9.0) | 273 (6.0) |
| Theophylline | |||
| Yes | 485 (10.6) | 44 (9.1) | 32 (6.6) |
| No | 4076 (89.4) | 374 (9.2) | 246 (6.0) |
| ⩾1 ED visit or hospitalisation for asthma | |||
| Yes | 612 (13.4) | 48 (7.8) | 36 (5.9) |
| No | 3949 (86.6) | 370 (9.4) | 242 (6.1) |
| First trimester of pregnancy | |||
| Inhaled corticosteroids* (beclomethasone–CFC equivalent, μg/day) | |||
| 0 | 2740 (60.0) | 258 (9.4) | 164 (6.0) |
| >0–500 | 1582 (34.7) | 142 (9.0) | 101 (6.4) |
| >500–1000 | 167 (3.7) | 9 (5.4) | 6 (3.6) |
| >1000 | 72 (1.6) | 9 (12.5) | 7 (9.7) |
| Intranasal corticosteroids | |||
| Yes | 200 (4.4) | 19 (9.5) | 14 (7.0) |
| No | 4361 (95.6) | 399 (9.1) | 264 (6.0) |
| Oral corticosteroids | |||
| Yes | 218 (4.8) | 24 (11.0) | 16 (7.3) |
| No | 4343 (95.2) | 394 (9.1) | 262 (6.0) |
| Short-acting β2-agonists (doses per week) | |||
| 0 | 1580 (34.6) | 146 (9.2) | 96 (6.0) |
| >0–3 | 1387 (30.4) | 125 (9.0) | 90 (6.5) |
| >3–10 | 757 (16.6) | 76 (10.1) | 48 (6.3) |
| >10 | 837 (18.4) | 71 (8.5) | 44 (5.3) |
| Long-acting β2-agonists | |||
| Yes | 33 (0.7) | 5 (15.1) | 3 (9.1) |
| No | 4528 (99.3) | 413 (9.1) | 275 (6.1) |
| Theophylline | |||
| Yes | 199 (4.4) | 19 (9.5) | 11 (5.5) |
| No | 4362 (95.6) | 399 (9.1) | 267 (6.1) |
| ⩾1 ED visit or hospitalisation for asthma | |||
| Yes | 284 (6.2) | 33 (11.6) | 23 (8.1) |
| No | 4277 (93.8) | 385 (9.0) | 255 (6.0) |