Volume 30, Number 10—October 2024
CME ACTIVITY - Research
Age- and Sex-Specific Differences in Lyme Disease Health-Related Behaviors, Ontario, Canada, 2015–2022
Janica A. Adams
, Victoria Osasah, Katherine Paphitis, Affan Danish, Richard G. Mather, Curtis A. Russell, Jennifer Pritchard, and Mark P. Nelder
, Victoria Osasah, Katherine Paphitis, Affan Danish, Richard G. Mather, Curtis A. Russell, Jennifer Pritchard, and Mark P. Nelder
Table 4
Risk factors and preventive behaviors reported by Lyme disease case-patients, by age group, Ontario, Canada, 2015–2022*
| Exposure activities | No. (%) case-patients by age group, y |
χ2† | p value | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | <5 | 5–9 | 10–19 | 20–29 | 30–39 | 40–49 | 50–59 | 60–69 | 70–79 | ≥80 | |||
| Risk factors | |||||||||||||
| Participated in activities in wooded or tall grass areas‡ | |||||||||||||
| N | 507 (10.2) | 18 (15.1) | 20 (6.5) | 25 (6.7) | 41 (10.9) | 44 (8.8) | 63 (9.8) | 111 (11.4) | 99 (9.8) | 70 (13.3) | 16 (14.6) | 15.69 | <0.001 |
| Y | 4,441 (89.8) | 101 (84.9) | 290 (93.6 | 346 (93.3) | 336 (89.1) | 458 (91.2) | 581 (90.2) | 863 (88.6) | 915 (90.2) | 457 (86.7) | 94 (85.5) | ||
| Recalled finding tick or tick bite on self | |||||||||||||
| N | 653 (14.0) | 18 (18.2) | 47 (17.3) | 60 (19.5) | 47 (15.1) | 53 (12.5) | 106 (18.0) | 127 (13.6) | 118 (11.5) | 63 (10.8) | 14 (10.9) | 14.22 | <0.001 |
| Y | 4,027 (86.0) | 81 (81.8) | 224 (82.7) | 248 (80.5) | 265 (84.9) | 371 (87.5) | 483 (82.0) | 806 (86.4) | 912 (88.5) | 522 (89.2) | 115 (89.2) | ||
| Contacted outdoor dog or cat that shared bed or living space | |||||||||||||
| N | 2,066 (58.1) | 53 (56.4) | 121 (53.8) | 154 (56.4) | 168 (63.9) | 173 (49.4) | 273 (57.6) | 376 (54.6) | 442 (60.2) | 243 (66.2) | 63 (73.3) | 8.71 | 0.003 |
| Y |
1,489 (41.9) |
41 (43.6) |
104 (46.2) |
119 (43.6) |
95 (36.1) |
177 (50.6) |
201 (42.4) |
313 (45.4) |
292 (39.8) |
124 (33.8) |
23 (26.7) |
||
| Preventive behaviors | |||||||||||||
| Checked for ticks after being outdoors in wooded or tall grass areas | |||||||||||||
| N | 2,657 (67.7) | 62 (63.9) | 170 (68.0) | 209 (70.1) | 211 (69.9) | 266 (67.7) | 354 (67.6) | 506 (66.8) | 528 (65.8) | 278 (68.8) | 73 (77.7) | 0.46 | 0.50 |
| Y | 1,266 (32.3) | 35 (36.1) | 80 (32.0) | 89 (29.9) | 91 (30.1) | 127 (32.3) | 170 (32.4) | 252 (33.3) | 275 (34.3) | 126 (31.2) | 21 (22.3) | ||
| Used insect repellant when outdoors in wooded or tall grass areas | |||||||||||||
| N | 2,812 (74.6) | 67 (72.8) | 169 (70.1) | 227 (79.7) | 216 (74.2) | 287 (75.5) | 382 (76.1) | 538 (74.0) | 557 (72.0) | 296 (76.1) | 73 (81.1) | 0.05 | 0.82 |
| Y | 959 (25.4) | 25 (27.2) | 72 (29.9) | 58 (20.4) | 75 (25.8) | 93 (24.5) | 120 (23.9) | 189 (26.0) | 217 (28.0) | 93 (23.9) | 17 (18.9) | ||
| Used adequate clothing protection in wooded or tall grass areas§ | |||||||||||||
| N | 2,710 (78.4) | 68 (72.3) | 189 (77.5) | 239 (82.7) | 203 (69.8) | 281 (76.0) | 377 (75.6) | 530 (73.3) | 508 (65.9) | 258 (66.5) | 57 (64.8) | 27.87 | <0.001 |
| Y | 1,047 (30.3) | 26 (27.7) | 55 (22.5) | 50 (17.3) | 88 (30.2) | 89 (24.1) | 122 (24.5) | 193 (26.7) | 263 (34.1) | 130 (33.5) | 31 (35.2) | ||
*Case-patients were queried on risk factors and preventive behaviors in the 30 d before illness onset. A low percentage of case-patients provided responses to queries on risk factors (46%–64%) and preventive behaviors (48%–50%). †Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test; p<0.05 represents a statistically significant relationship between risk factor/preventive behavior and increasing age group. ‡For activities in wooded or tall grass areas, case-patients were asked about specific activities such as hiking, camping, or hunting. §Adequate clothing included long sleeves, long pants, and covered shoes.
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