Research Article

Influence of Adult Knee Height, Age at First Birth, Migration, and Current Age on Adult Physical Function of Bangladeshi Mothers and Daughters in the United Kingdom and Bangladesh

Table 1

Characteristics of the participants given as mean values (standard deviations) or percentages. All values are as measured with no statistical adjustment for age differences.

Cardiff mothers ( )+Bangladesh mothers ( )Cardiff daughters ( )++Bangladesh daughters ( )

Age (yr)55.3 (8.1)
Range = 40–69
51.9 (8.8)
Range = 40–70
27.4 (5.5)**  
Range = 17–36
22.8 (5.1)**  
Range = 17–35
Age when married (yr)16.3 (2.7)16.5 (3.3)18.7 (2.3)
n = 24
Age at 1st birth20.8 (4.2)23.2 (5.5)21.3 (2.2)
n = 20
20.5 (2.6)
n = 6
Age at final birth34.4 (6.7)35.8 (5.3)
Total pregnancies6.6 (2.0)
5.6 (2.1)2.9 (1.0)
n = 20
2.9 (2.3)
n = 7
Number of living children 5.6 (1.8)4.9 (1.6)2.6 (0.9).
n = 20
2.7 (1.5)
n = 7
Height (cm)147.7 (6.2)148.8 (5.7)153.2 (5.8)152.7 (6.0)
Sitting height (cm)77.4 (3.7)76.4 (3.4)81.4 (2.4)**78.2 (3.0)**
Knee height (cm)45.9 (2.4)46.9 (2.4)46.7 (2.5)48.2 (2.3)
Weight (kg)66.0 (13.4)*53.5 (15.2)*64.5 (14.5)**50.8 (10.6)**
Waist circumference (cm)97.9 (9.6)*82.5 (14.0)*82.4 (13.0)**72.4 (8.3)**
BMI (kg/m2)30.1 (5.2)*24.1 (6.4)*27.5 (5.7)**21.8 (4.4)**
BMI category
 Underweight0%13.6%0%22.7%
 Acceptable risk5%40.9%25.0%40.9%
 Increased risk30%18.2%22.5%22.7%
 High risk 65%27.3% 42.5% 13.6%
Physical function scoreβ6.3 (3.0)*9.4 (1.9)*10.8 (1.1)11.2 (0.8)

Mean age at migration = 30 years.
++20 born in UK and 17 born in Bangladesh; mean age at migration = 8.2 years, median = 8.0, range = <1 year to 23 years.
WHO BMI cut-off categories for South Asians: underweight <18.5; increasing but acceptable risk 18.5–23; increased risk 23.1–27.5; high risk >27.5.
βScore on the short physical function battery, maximum score = 12.
*Means for the mothers are significantly different, P ≤ .01.
**Means for the daughters are significantly different, P ≤ .01.