Table 2.
Characteristics of the study population
| London (n = 80) | Birmingham (n = 76) | Liverpool (n = 69) | Newcastle (n = 83) | P-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |||
| Method of transport | <.001 | |||||
| None | 0 (0) | 18 (23.7) | 16 (23.2) | 12 (14.5) | ||
| Bus | 10 (12.5) | 45 (59.2) | 24 (34.8) | 34 (41) | ||
| Train | 65 (81.25) | 13 (17.1) | 29 (42) | 32 (39) | ||
| Other | 4 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (6) | ||
| Mean age: | 35.8 | 35.4 | 34.7 | 38.6 | .26 | |
| Occupation | .30 | |||||
| Professional | 37 (46.3) | 29 (38.2) | 17 (24.6) | 28 (33.7) | ||
| Manual | 26 (32.5) | 32 (42.1) | 38 (55) | 35 (42) | ||
| Student | 11 (13.75) | 11 (14.5) | 9 (13) | 12 (14.5) | ||
| None | 6 (7.5) | 4 (5.3) | 5 (7.3) | 8 (9.6)) | ||
| Median hygiene score | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | .22. | |
| Soil contact | 2 (2.5) | 10 (13.2) | 4 (5.8) | 12 (14.5) | .02 | |
| Living with children | 10 (12.5) | 10 (13.2) | 8 (11.6) | 19 (22.9) | .16 | |
| Average number of handshakes | 1.4 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.4 | .1 | |
| Pet ownership | 14 (17.5) | 15 (19.7) | 12 (17.4) | 10 (12.1) | .9 | |