Effectiveness of Personal Protective Measures to Prevent Lyme Disease

Marietta Vázquez*

, Catherine Muehlenbein*, Matthew L. Cartter†, Edward B. Hayes‡, Starr Ertel†, and Eugene D. Shapiro*

Author affiliations: *Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; †State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, Connecticut, USA; ‡Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA;

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Table 3

Personal protective measures and risk factors for Lyme disease, Connecticut, July 2000 through February 2003

Personal protective measures	Case-patients, no. (%)	Matched controls, no. (%)	Odds ratio* (95% CI)†	p value
Use of protective clothing while outdoors
Definite	215 (46) N = 467	427 (59)  N = 724	0.6 (0.5–0.7)	<0.0001
Definite and possible	265 (46)  N = 572	524 (58)  N = 898	0.6 (0.5–0.8)	<0.0001
Unlikely	72 (53)  N = 137	121 (53)  N = 230	0.9 (0.6- 1.3)	0.55
Use of tick repellents on skin or clothing while outdoors
Definite	138 (30)  N = 467	252 (35) N = 724	0.8 (0.6–0.9)	0.04
Definite and possible	168 (29)  N = 570	303 (34) N = 890	0.8 (0.6–0.99)	0.0499
Unlikely	37 (27) N = 136	64 (28) N = 228	0.9 (0.6–1.5)	0.83
Spraying property with tick acaricides
Definite	16 (7)  N = 237	52 (11)  N = 467	0.6 (0.3–1.1)	0.09
Definite and possible	19 (7)  N = 285	62 (11)  N = 557	0.6 (0.3–1.0)	0.06
Unlikely	3 (8) N = 36	16 (12)  N = 133	0.7 (0.2–3.0)	0.61
Checking the body for ticks after exposure
Definite	360 (77)  N = 467	560 (77)  N = 724	1.1 (0.8–1.4)	0.64
Definite and possible	443 (77)  N = 572	703 (78)  N = 898	1.0 (0.8–1.4)	0.81
Unlikely	107 (78)  N = 137	181 (79) N = 230	0.9 (0.5–1.5)	0.61

*All estimates were adjusted for possible confounders (sex, race, receipt of Lyme vaccine, and use of other personal protective measures) with conditional logistic regression.
†CI, confidence interval.

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Page created: July 08, 2010
Page last updated: July 08, 2010
Page last reviewed: July 08, 2010
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