Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of the study participants of the general population of Braunschweig, Germany.

Variables	Categories	N (%)
Sex	Female	237 (60.9)
	Male	152 (39.1)
Median age in years (inter quartile range)		49 (39–61)
Age	20–30 years	53 (13.6)
	31–40 years	51 (13.01)
	41–50 years	98 (25.2)
	51–60 years	89 (22.9)
	61–70 years	98 (25.2)
Allergies	No	182 (46.8)
	Yes	176 (45.2)
Diabetes mellitus	No	365 (93.8)
	Yes	16 (4.1)
Skin infection in the last 12 months	No	272 (69.9)
	Yes	104 (26.7)
Outpatient clinic visits in the last 12 months	No	110 (28.3)
	Yes	276 (71.0)
Hospital stay in the last 12 months	No	341 (87.7)
	Yes	44 (11.3)
Surgery in the last 12 months	No	339 (87.1)
	Yes	49 (12.6)
Prescribed antibiotics in the last 12 months	No	225 (57.8)
	Yes	158 (40.6)
Pet animal contact	No	185 (47.6)
	Yes	201 (51.7)
Occupational animals contact	No	377 (96.9)
	Yes	7 (1.8)
International travel in the last 12 months	No	162 (41.6)
	Yes	224 (57.6)

N = 389 (100%): Missing are included therefore percentage do not always add up to 100 percent.