Table 1.
Demographic and sexual behaviour characteristics of 142 cases of genital N. gonorrhoeae infection among women attending MSHC, 2017–2018
| Characteristics | All women (N = 142) | Symptomatic women (N = 74) | Asymptomatic women (N = 68) | P value‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 28 (24–34) | 27 (24–33) | 29 (24–36) | 0.323 |
| Age (years), n (%) | 0.556 | |||
| 16–25 | 55 (38.7) | 30 (40.5) | 25 (36.8) | |
| 26–35 | 57 (40.1) | 31 (41.9) | 26 (38.2) | |
| ≥36 | 30 (21.1) | 13 (17.6) | 17 (25.0) | |
| Country of birth, n (%) | 0.722 | |||
| Australia | 55 (38.7) | 31 (41.9) | 24 (35.3) | |
| Overseas | 79 (55.6) | 39 (52.7) | 40 (58.8) | |
| No information | 8 (5.6) | 4 (5.4) | 4 (5.9) | |
| Indigenous status, n (%) | 0.206 | |||
| Indigenous origin | 2 (1.4) | 2 (2.7) | 0 (0) | |
| Non-indigenous origin | 103 (72.5) | 50 (67.6) | 53 (77.9) | |
| No information | 37 (26.1) | 22 (29.7) | 15 (22.1) | |
| Number of male sexual partners in the preceding 3 months, median (IQR)* | 2 (1–4) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–5) | 0.965 |
| Number of male sexual partners in the preceding 3 months, n (%) | 0.082 | |||
| ≤4 | 82 (57.7) | 49 (66.2) | 33 (48.5) | |
| >4 | 21 (14.8) | 10 (13.5) | 11 (16.2) | |
| No information | 39 (27.5) | 15 (20.3) | 24 (35.3) | |
| Had a female sexual partner(s) in the preceding 3 months, n (%) | 0.550 | |||
| Yes | 12 (8.5) | 5 (6.8) | 7 (10.3) | |
| No | 104 (73.2) | 57 (77.0) | 47 (69.1) | |
| Not information | 26 (18.3) | 12 (16.2) | 14 (20.6) | |
| Condom use with male sexual partners in the preceding 3 months, n (%) | 0.205 | |||
| Always | 12 (8.5) | 5 (6.8) | 7 (10.3) | |
| Not always† | 88 (62.0) | 51 (68.9) | 37 (54.4) | |
| No information | 42 (29.6) | 18 (24.3) | 24(35.3) | |
| Sexual contact with a man diagnosed with gonorrhoea, n (%) | 0.650 | |||
| Yes | 25 (17.6) | 12 (16.2) | 13 (19.1) | |
| No | 117 (82.4) | 62 (83.8) | 55 (80.9) | |
| Current sex worker, n (%) | 0.011 | |||
| Yes | 52 (36.6) | 19 (25.7) | 33 (48.5) | |
| No | 83 (58.5) | 52 (70.3) | 31 (45.6) | |
| No information | 7 (4.9) | 3 (4.1) | 4 (5.9) | |
| Sex overseas in the preceding 12 months, n (%) | 0.952 | |||
| Yes | 37 (26.1) | 19 (25.7) | 18 (26.5) | |
| No | 77 (54.2) | 41 (55.4) | 36 (52.9) | |
| No information | 28 (19.7) | 14 (18.9) | 14 (20.6) |
IQR: interquartile range. Data are presented as either n (%) or median (IQR).
*The median of male sex partners was calculated among 103 women who reported the number of male partners, excluding the 39 women who decided not to report the number of male partners in the preceding three months.
†‘Not always’ was defined as women who sometimes, usually or never used a condom with their male partners in the preceding 3 months.
‡Chi-squared test was used to compare categorical variables between symptomatic and asymptomatic women. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare continuous variables between symptomatic and asymptomatic women.