Volume 12, Number 6—June 2006
Research
Social Behavior and Meningococcal Carriage in British Teenagers
Jenny MacLennan*, George Kafatos†, Keith Neal‡, Nick Andrews†, J. Claire Cameron§, Richard Roberts¶, Meirion R. Evans#, Kathy Cann**, David N. Baxter††, Martin C.J. Maiden*, James M. Stuart‡‡
, and on behalf of the United Kingdom Meningococcal Carriage Group
, and on behalf of the United Kingdom Meningococcal Carriage GroupTable 2
Single-variable analysis of risk factors for meningococcal carriage in British teenagers at an individual level*
| Variable | No. swab samples | Total positive (%) | OR (95% CI) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 6,874 | 1,156 (16.8) | 1.00, reference | |
| Female | 7,045 | 1,163 (16.5) | 0.98 (0.89–1.07) | 0.625 |
| Age (y) | ||||
| 15 | 959 | 108 (11.3) | 1.00, reference | |
| 16 | 5,856 | 839 (14.3) | 1.32 (1.06–1.63) | |
| 17 | 5,575 | 1,027 (18.4) | 1.78 (1.44–2.20) | |
| 18, 19 | 1,511 | 342 (22.6) | 2.31 (1.82–2.91) | <0.001 |
| School year | ||||
| 12 | 7,265 | 1,096 (15.1) | 1.00, reference | |
| 13 | 4,866 | 883 (18.1) | 1.25 (1.13–1.38) | |
| Other | 1,860 | 310 (18.5) | 1.27 (1.11–1.46) | <0.001 |
| Cigarettes smoked/day | ||||
| None | 10,732 | 1,496 (13.9) | 1.00, reference | |
| 1–5 | 1,343 | 335 (24.9) | 2.05 (1.79–2.35) | |
| 6–10 | 1,016 | 277 (27.3) | 2.31 (1.99–2.68) | |
| 11–20 | 531 | 153 (28.8) | 2.50 (2.05–3.04) | |
| >21 | 46 | 7 (15.2) | 1.11 (0.49–2.48) | <0.001 |
| Other smokers at home | ||||
| No | 8,457 | 1,271 (15.0) | 1.00, reference | |
| Yes | 5,064 | 974 (19.2) | 1.35 (1.23–1.48) | <0.001 |
| No. persons kissed in last week | ||||
| 0 | 7,564 | 935 (12.4) | 1.00, reference | |
| 1 | 4,910 | 1,049 (21.4) | 1.93 (1.75–2.12) | |
| 2 | 662 | 142 (21.5) | 1.94 (1.59–2.36) | |
| 3 | 233 | 68 (29.2) | 2.92 (2.18–3.91) | |
| 4–5 | 328 | 79 (24.1) | 2.25 (1.73–2.92) | <0.001 |
| No. nights attended pub or club in last week | ||||
| 0 | 5,164 | 523 (10.1) | 1.00, reference | |
| 1 | 3,805 | 648 (17.0) | 1.82 (1.6–2.06) | |
| 2 | 2,301 | 482 (20.9) | 2.35 (2.05–2.69) | |
| 3 | 1,207 | 285 (23.6) | 2.74 (2.34–3.22) | |
| 4 | 562 | 150 (26.7) | 3.23 (2.63–3.98) | |
| 5–7 | 572 | 175 (30.6) | 3.91 (3.20–4.78) | <0.001 |
| No. persons sharing bedroom | ||||
| 1 | 11,900 | 1,963 (16.5) | 1.00, reference | |
| 2 | 1,662 | 284 (17.1) | 1.04 (0.91–1.20) | |
| >3 | 145 | 22 (15.2) | 0.91 (0.57–1.43) | 0.751 |
| No. persons/room† | ||||
| 0–1 | 13,197 | 2,196 (16.6) | 1.00, reference | |
| >1–1.5 | 457 | 79 (17.3) | 1.05 (0.82–1.34) | |
| >1.5 | 122 | 11 (9.0) | 0.50 (0.27–0.92) | 0.073 |
| Recent antimicrobial drug use | ||||
| None | 11,749 | 2,021 (17.2) | 1.00, reference | |
| Current | 682 | 64 (9.4) | 0.50 (0.38–0.65) | |
| Stopped last week | 303 | 48 (15.8) | 0.91 (0.66–1.24) | |
| Stopped last month | 733 | 99 (13.5) | 0.75 (0.60–0.93) | <0.001 |
| Prior polysaccharide vaccine | ||||
| No | 12,493 | 2,078 (16.6) | 1.00, reference | |
| Yes | 1,042 | 170 (16.3) | 0.98 (0.82–1.16) | 0.791 |
| Carstairs score, per unit | 1.02 (1.00–1.03) | 0.022 | ||
| Month of swabbing | ||||
| Nov | 7,050 | 1,192 (16.9) | 1.00, reference | |
| Dec | 6,869 | 1,127 (16.4) | 0.96 (0.88–1.05) | 0.428 |
*OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.
†Derived data.
1United Kingdom Meningococcal Carriage Group: S. Ahmed, D.A.A. Ala'aldeen, N. Andrews, R.A. Barnes, D.N. Baxter, J.C. Cameron, K. Cann, A.D. Carr, D. Casey, M. Clacher, S.C. Clarke, D.W. Crook, R. Cunningham, K.T. Dunkin, M.R. Evans, S. Gray, D. Griffiths, S. Harrison, E.B. Kaczmarski, G. Kafatos, J.S. Kroll, Y.K. Lau, G. Lewendon, C. Lewis, J.M. MacLennan, M.C.J. Maiden, P. Marks, R. Mathews, J. Murray, K. Neal, A. Paull, M.E. Ramsay, C. Roberts, J.M. Stuart, D. Turner, R. Urwin, A.M. Walker, S. Welch.
