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 3
Single variable analysis of risk factors for meningococcal carriage in British teenagers at school level*
| Variable | No. schools | % positive† | OR (95% CI) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School type | ||||
| Comprehensive | 47 | 13.1 | 1.00, reference | |
| Independent/grammar | 9 | 12.0 | 0.90 (0.60–1.35) | |
| Sixth form college | 9 | 19.6 | 1.71 (1.18–2.48) | |
| Further education college | 9 | 19.1 | 1.66 (1.14–2.42) | 0.002 |
| Funding | ||||
| State | 68 | 14.6 | 1.00, reference | |
| Independent | 6 | 13.8 | 0.94 (0.57–1.56) | 0.808 |
| Sex | 10.5 | |||
| Single sex | 5 | 14.8 | 1.00, reference | |
| Coeducational | 69 | 14.7 | 1.52 (0.87–2.64) | 0.139 |
| School size | ||||
| Small (<200 pupils) | 11 | 13.5 | 1.00, reference | |
| Medium (200–499) | 47 | 12.8 | 0.98 (0.68–1.41) | |
| Large (>500) | 16 | 20.2 | 1.78 (1.18–2.69) | <0.001 |
| Boarding | ||||
| No | 71 | 14.6 | 1.00, reference | |
| Yes | 3 | 13.1 | 0.79 (0.39–1.61) | 0.512 |
| Center | ||||
| Cardiff | 9 | 14.2 | 1.00, reference | |
| Glasgow | 22 | 11.7 | 0.75 (0.54–1.03) | |
| Bangor | 6 | 19.4 | 1.47 (0.99–2.20) | |
| Nottingham | 9 | 18.0 | 1.36 (0.94–1.95) | |
| Oxford | 11 | 20.8 | 1.63 (1.16–2.29) | |
| Plymouth | 14 | 7.9 | 0.52 (0.36–0.75) | |
| Stockport | 3 | 23.5 | 1.92 (1.22–3.03) | <0.001 |
*OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.
†This is calculated as the average of the percentages positive across the schools.
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.
