The mean age of the pregnant women, in both the
groups, was comparable. Table 1 shows the detailed comparison
of all the maternal variables studied in the two groups.
The women exposed to ETS had higher parity and a greater
number of live births as compared to women not exposed to
ETS. The women exposed to ETS were less educated as compared
to those not exposed to ETS (11.3% vs. 4.8% illiterates
and 16.3% vs. 45% graduates or above, respectively) and fewer
were employed. Among the antenatal problems, there was a
significantly higher incidence of anaemia among the group
exposed to ETS (P=0.003). The median exposure index in the
study group was 115.8 (range 31 to 2880, inter-quartile range
133.5).