Distributions of sociodemographic characteristics among paediatric patients with and without thyroid nodules
| Variable | Nodules (n=257) | No nodules (n=2153) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, year | 12.01±2.73 | 11.06±3.56 | <0.001 |
| Height, cm | 150.50±15.84 | 142.90±19.68 | <0.001 |
| Weight, kg | 43.83±11.44 | 38.56±14.39 | <0.001 |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 108 (42.02) | 1083 (50.30) | 0.012 |
| Female | 149 (57.98) | 1070 (49.70) | |
| Residence location | |||
| Urban area | 153 (59.53) | 1028 (47.75) | 0.0004 |
| Rural area | 104 (40.47) | 1125 (52.25) | |
| Diet pattern* | |||
| Balanced | 202 (78.91) | 1663 (77.46) | 0.519 |
| Vegetarian | 30 (11.72) | 271 (12.62) | |
| Meat | 24 (9.37) | 213 (9.92) | |
| Salt appetite | |||
| Moderate | 127 (50.00) | 1200 (56.02) | 0.042 |
| Salty | 61 (24.02) | 380 (17.74) | |
| Light | 66 (25.98) | 562 (26.24) | |
| Milk consumption | |||
| Yes | 192 (80.67) | 1599 (77.73) | 0.300 |
| No | 46 (19.33) | 458 (22.27) | |
| Types of salt† | |||
| Iodised salt | 236 (94.02) | 2063 (96.58) | 0.042 |
| Non-iodised | 15 (5.98) | 73 (3.42) | |
Values are mean±SD or n (%).
*Vegetarian indicates that subjects consistently had a vegetable diet; meat indicates that subjects consistently had a meat diet; moderate indicates that subjects intermittently had a vegetable or meat diet.
†Iodised salt indicates that subjects consistently consumed iodised salt; non-iodised salt indicates that subjects intermittently consumed iodised salt or consistently consumed non-iodised salt.