Table 1.
Comparison of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in young women <25 and women ≥25 years
| Characteristic | Women <25 years | Women ≥25 years | OR | 95% CI | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion, % (n) | Weighted prevalence, % (95% CI) | Proportion, % (n) | Weighted prevalence, % (95% CI) |
|||
| Ethnicity (n = 545) | ||||||
| White | 24.6 (14) | 18.3 (6.2–43.2) | 55.3 (270) | 57.3 (51.5–63.0) | Reference | |
| Black African/Caribbean or Black British | 50.9 (29) | 63.3 (39.0–82.4) | 30.3 (148) | 28.8 (23.8–34.3) | 6.9 | 2.0–24.1 |
| Asian/mixed/other ethnic groups | 24.6 (14) | 18.3 (6.2–43.2) | 14.3 (70) | 13.9 (10.4–18.4) | 4.1 | 0.9–19.2 |
| Education/qualifications (n = 545) | ||||||
| No formal qualificationsa | 12.3 (7) | 9.2 (2.0–33.9) | 3.9 (19) | 2.7 (1.4–5.2) | Reference | |
| GSCE/NVQ level or above | 87.7 (50) | 90.8 (66.1–98.1) | 96.1 (469) | 97.3 (94.8–98.6) | 0.3 | 0.05–1.5 |
| Household income (n = 416) | ||||||
| £0–£14 999 | 74.0 (20) | 74.7 (31.7–95.0) | 14.7 (57) | 11.9 (8.4–16.6) | 21.9 | 3.7–130.5 |
| £14 999–£61 000 or more | 26.0 (7) | 25.3 (5.0–68.3) | 85.4 (332) | 88.1 (83.4–91.6) | Reference | |
| Employment status (n = 542) | ||||||
| Employed/homemaker or student | 58.9 (33) | 65.1 (40.2–83.8) | 88.1 (428) | 90.9 (87.1–93.7) | Reference | |
| Unemployed/unable to work | 41.1 (23) | 35.0 (16.3–59.8) | 11.9 (58) | 9.1 (6.3–12.9) | 5.4 | 1.9–15.6 |
| Relationship status (n = 545) | ||||||
| Not single | 63.2 (36) | 65.9 (41.0–84.4) | 89.8 (438) | 92.6 (89.0–95.0) | Reference | |
| Single | 36.8 (21) | 34.1 (15.6–59.0) | 10.2 (50) | 7.4 (5.0–11.0) | 6.4 | 2.2–19.0 |
| Living status (n = 544) | ||||||
| Partner | 26.3 (15) | 31.9 (13.9–57.4) | 76.2 (371) | 81.9 (77.1–85.8) | Reference | |
| Parents/family | 26.3 (15) | 31.9 (13.9–57.4) | 7.6 (37) | 6.0 (3.8–9.3) | 13.7 | 3.7–50.5 |
| Alone | 21.1 (12) | 24.2 (9.1–50.3) | 12.1 (59) | 9.5 (6.6–13.3) | 6.6 | 1.7–25.7 |
| Friends/acquaintance | 7.0 (4) | 1.5 (0.5–4.4) | 3.1 (15) | 2.2 (1.0–4.6) | 1.7 | 0.4–7.9 |
| Emergency accommodation/homelessb | 19.3 (11) | 10.7 (2.8–33.4) | 1.0 (5) | 0.5 (0.1–2.2) | 54.2 | 6.3–466.2 |
| Immigration status (n = 545) | ||||||
| Secure legal status | 75.4 (43) | 94.8 (89.6–97.5) | 85.9 (419) | 86.5 (82.0–90.0) | Reference | |
| Insecure legal status | 24.6 (14) | 5.2 (2.5–10.4) | 14.1 (69) | 13.5 (10.0–18.0) | 0.4 | 0.2–0.8 |
| Children | ||||||
| Has other living children (n = 545) | 26.3 (15) | 18.7 (6.5–43.4) | 53.1 (259) | 53.6 (47.8–59.3) | 0.2 | 0.1–0.7 |
| Referral to Social Services for this pregnancy (n = 543) | 14.3 (8) | 10.3 (2.3–35.7) | 2.3 (11) | 1.0 (0.4–2.9) | 10.8 | 1.7–68.5 |
| Obstetric history | ||||||
| Previous terminations (n = 544) | 36.8 (21) | 47.2 (25.1–70.5) | 30.4 (148) | 27.7 (22.9–33.2) | 2.3 | 0.9–6.3 |
| Previous miscarriages or still-birth (n = 543) | 23.6 (13) | 24.7 (9.5–50.8) | 32.0 (156) | 33.1 (27.9–38.8) | 0.7 | 0.2–2.1 |
| Unplanned pregnancy (n = 545) | 63.2 (36) | 65.9 (41.0–84.4) | 31.4 (153) | 24.8 (20.2–30.1) | 5.9 | 2.1–16.4 |
| Late booking (n = 545) | 38.6 (22) | 21.3 (8.3–44.9) | 15.0 (73) | 14.3 (10.8–18.9) | 1.6 | 0.5–5.0 |
| Current/ chronic medical conditions (n = 544) | 43.9 (25) | 22.4 (9.1–45.6) | 44.4 (216) | 42.8 (37.1–48.6) | 0.4 | 0.1–1.1 |
| Current smoking (n = 545) | 7.0 (4) | 8.1 (1.4–35.1) | 3.7 (18) | 1.6 (0.7–3.6) | 5.3 | 0.8–37.5 |
| History of smoking (n = 545) | 45.6 (26) | 49.1 (26.6–71.9) | 46.7 (228) | 44.0 (38.4–49.8) | 1.2 | 0.5–3.3 |
| Substance misuse (AUDIT and DUDIT) (n = 529) | 13.2 (7) | 16.0 (4.6–43.0) | 12.5 (59) | 9.4 (6.6–13.3) | 1.8 | 0.5–7.4 |
AUDIT, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; DUDIT, Drug Use Disorders Identification Test.
a.
In the group of young women of school age (<19 years), only one participant (aged 16.1 years) had not completed a qualification of GCSE level/NVQ or higher; this participant also did not describe themselves as being a student/in education. We were therefore confident to define this participant as having ‘no formal qualifications’.
b.
For the adjusted models, this category was combined with ‘friends/acquaintances’ because of the small numbers.