A comparison of migrants to, and women born in, urban Mongolia: demographic, reproductive, anthropometric and lifestyle characteristics.

Background: Mongolia has experienced vast migration from rural to urban areas since the 1950s. We hypothesized that women migrating to Ulaanbaatar, the capital, would differ in factors related to future chronic disease risk compared with women who were born in Ulaanbaatar.

Methods: Premenopausal mothers (aged <44 years) of children attending two schools (one in the city centre and one in the outskirts) in Ulaanbaatar were recruited for the study.