A descriptive study of variables associated with obtaining nipple aspirate fluid in a cohort of non-lactating women

Table 1 Demographic, menstrual, reproductive, and other characteristics of women from the Sartorius Nipple Aspirate Fluid Cohort, 1970–1990.

Characteristic Variables	N (#)	%	Median	Mean	SE
Continuous
Age (years)	3043		43	44.5	0.27
Height (inches)	2927		64.5	64.5	0.05
Earliest Weight (lbs.)	2921		130	136.4	0.49
Body Mass Index	2910		22.3	23.4	0.08
Discrete
Marital Status
Married	1833	60.2
Single	530	17.4
Divorced	307	10.1
Widowed	178	5.9
No Data	195	6.4
Age at Menarche (yrs)
< 10 yrs	25	0.8
10 to 12 yrs	945	31.1
13 to 14 yrs	1259	41.4
> 14 yrs	317	10.4
No Data	497	16.3
History of Pregnancy
Yes	2155	70.8
No	887	29.2
Missing	1	0
Breastfed Any Child
Yes	1209	39.7
No, but history of pregnancy	870	28.6
Never pregnant	887	29.2
Missing	76	2.5
Menopausal
Yes	1328	43.6
No	1600	52.6
No Data	115	3.8
Age at Menopause (yrs)
20 to 29 yrs	98	3.2	7.4*
30 to 39 yrs	297	9.8	22.4*
40 to 49 yrs	498	16.4	37.5*
50 to 59 yrs	401	13.2	30.2*
> 59 yrs	6	0.2	0.5*
Premenopausal	1600	52.6
No Data	143	4.7
Menopause Reason
Natural menopause	500	16.4	37.7^†
Hysterectomy only	419	13.8	31.6^†
Hysterectomy + 1 ovary	79	2.6	5.9^†
Hysterectomy + both ovaries	256	8.4	19.3^†
Both ovaries removed only	2	0.1	0.2^†
Radiation	3	0.1	0.2^†
Chemotherapy	2	0.1	0.2^†
Hysterectomy, ovary unkn	4	0.1	0.3^†
Premenopausal	1600	52.6
No Data	178	5.8
External Estrogen (among menopausal women only n = 1328)
Yes	838	63.1
No	466	35.1
No Data	24	1.8
Tranquilizer Use
Yes	365	12
No	2510	82.5
No Data	168	5.5
Oral Contraceptive Pills
Yes	1580	51.8
No	1124	36.9
No Data	339	11.1
Endocrine Problems**	508	16.7
Yes	2393	78.6
No	142	4.7
No Data

SE, standard error of the Mean
* Percentage is among 1328 menopausal women with 28 missing age at menopause.
^† Percentage from 1328 menopausal women with 63 missing menopause reason.
** Among women with endocrine problems 61 had diabetes, 21 had hyperthyroidism, 382 had hypothyroidism, and other types of endocrine problems are unknown.

ISSN: 1472-6874