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Table 1 Demographic characteristics, personal health, and medical conditions by educational status, among 4177 Black women, an estimated 9,494,904 US residents from the National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2018

From: Examining educational attainment and allostatic load in non-Hispanic Black women

Characteristic

Less than high school

High school/GED

Some college or associates degree

College graduate or higher

All

Participants (N)

1020

1089

1397

671

4177

Estimated Na (Weighted %)

2,082,665 (21.9)

2,330,386 (24.5)

3,391,159 (35.7)

1,690,695 (17.8)

9,494,904

Allostatic load total score, mean (SE)b,c

2.34 (0.05)

1.99 (0.05)

2.05 (0.05)

1.90 (0.07)

2.07 (0.03)

High allostatic load, % (SE)d,e

42.7 (1.5)

36.3 (1.6)

36.6 (1.4)

31.8 (2.0)

37.0 (0.9)

Age in years, mean (SE)c

48.2 (0.6)

41.9 (0.6)

41.7 (0.5)

44.3 (0.6)

43.6 (0.3)

Age group, years, % (SE)e

18–29

20.5 (1.3)

30.8 (1.6)

26.8 (1.4)

15.0 (1.4)

24.3 (0.8)

30–39

17.1 (1.2)

17.7 (1.3)

21.3 (1.2)

24.0 (1.8)

20.0 (0.7)

40–49

16.7 (1.4)

16.2 (1.2)

22.8 (1.4)

27.9 (2.1)

20.7 (0.7)

50–59

14.6 (1.4)

16.4 (1.3)

15.3 (0.9)

18.9 (1.4)

16.1 (0.7)

60–69

13.5 (1.0)

12.0 (0.9)

8.8 (0.6)

8.5 (0.9)

10.6 (0.5)

70+

17.7 (1.2)

6.8 (0.7)

5.0 (0.5)

5.7 (0.8)

8.4 (0.5)

Total number of pregnancies, median (Q1, Q3)

3.39 (1.90, 5.17)

2.66 (1.48, 4.04)

2.45 (1.43, 3.75)

2.03 (1.10, 3.30)

2.31 (1.35, 3.55)

Parity, median (Q1, Q3)

2.55 (1.40, 4.13)

1.92 (0.99, 2.94)

1.59 (0.82, 2.54)

1.37 (0.61, 2.19)

1.73 (1.05, 2.68)

Age at menarche, mean (SE)

12.86 (0.07)

12.64 (0.06)

12.44 (0.05)

12.50 (0.08)

12.69 (0.02)

Income relative to federal poverty line, mean (SE)c

1.43 (0.05)

1.77 (0.06)

2.27 (0.05)

3.43 (0.07)

2.17 (0.05)

Depressive disorder, % (SE)

18.9 (1.85)

9.4 (1.35)

11.3 (1.01)

6.6 (1.04)

7.6 (0.25)

Waist circumference in cm, mean (SE)c

100.1 (0.5)

99.0 (0.7)

100.6 (0.5)

98.6 (0.8)

99.7 (0.3)

Current smoker status, % (SE)e

29.8 (1.6)

22.3 (1.6)

18.6 (1.2)

5.5 (0.9)

19.6 (0.8)

Any cancer history, % (SE)e,f

4.4 (0.7)

4.2 (0.6)

4.1 (0.5)

4.2 (0.7)

4.2 (0.3)

Angina, % (SE)e

2.3 (0.5)

1.6 (0.4)

2.4 (0.4)

0.9 (0.3)

1.9 (0.2)

Ever congestive heart failure, % (SE)e

5.1 (0.7)

2.5 (0.5)

2.1 (0.4)

1.4 (0.4)

2.7 (0.3)

Ever heart attack, % (SE)e

3.6 (0.6)

2.1 (0.4)

1.8 (0.3)

1.6 (0.5)

2.2 (0.2)

  1. aEstimated using sampling weights from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
  2. b Allostatic load total score was calculated as sum total of components based on high-risk thresholds: albumin, BMI, creatinine clearance, diastolic blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides. Score ranges from 0 to 8
  3. cPresented as weighted mean (standard error) for continuous variables
  4. dHigh allostatic load defined as total allostatic load score greater than or equal to 4
  5. ePresented as weighted column proportion (standard error)
  6. fDefined as self-reported response to ever being diagnosed by a doctor or health professional of any cancer or malignancy
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BMC Women's Health

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