Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the studied population by country and participation group, n = 1940, AWARE Study, 2021
| Germany | The Netherlandsa | Romania | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Missings | Overall | Overall | WWTP worker | Nearby residentc | Distant residentb | p | Overall | WWTP worker | Distant resident b | p | Overall | WWTP worker | Nearby resident c | Distant resident b | p |
| n | 1940 | 480 | 30 | 101 | 349 | 826 | 161 | 665 | 634 | 153 | 330 | 151 | ||||
| Age, years (median [IQR]) | 0 |
49 [36, 58] |
47 [35, 57] |
52 [44, 55] |
48 [35, 58] |
45 [34, 56] |
0.161 |
54 [40, 61] |
54 [45, 59] |
55 [39, 61] |
0.710 |
43 [34, 53] |
49 [41, 53] |
41 [32, 54] |
40 [33, 50] |
< 0.001 |
| Sex, n (%) = Male | 4 | 938 (48) | 211 (44) | 24 (80) | 51 (50) | 136 (39) | < 0.001 | 403 (49) | 150 (93) | 253 (38) | < 0.001 | 324 (51) | 114 (75) | 140 (42) | 70 (47) | < 0.001 |
| Highest educational level obtained, n (%) = Highd | 8 | 1228 (64) | 307 (64) | 9 (30) | 47 (47) | 251 (72) | < 0.001 | 426 (52) | 41 (25) | 385 (58) | < 0.001 | 495 (79) | 144 (97) | 214 (65) | 137 (91) | < 0.001 |
| Work with patients or human tissues in the past year, n (%) = Yese | 43 | 605 (32) | 171 (36) | 19 (68) | 32 (32) | 120 (35) | 0.001 | 321 (39) | 96 (62) | 225 (34) | < 0.001 | 113 (18) | 25 (18) | 50 (15) | 38 (26) | 0.025 |
| Hospital visits as a patient in the past year, n (%) = Yes | 2 | 172 (9) | 74 (15) | 2 (7) | 18 (18) | 54 (16) | 0.332 | 42 (5) | 2 (1) | 40 (6) | 0.024 | 56 (9) | 9 (6) | 38 (12) | 9 (6) | 0.046 |
| Hospital visits as a professional in the past year, n (%) = Yes | 2 | 59 (3) | 31 (6) | 0 (0) | 6 (6) | 25 (7) | 0.299 | 14 (2) | 0 (0) | 14 (2) | 0.131 | 14 (2) | 0 (0) | 7 (2) | 7 (5) | 0.023 |
| Use of antibiotics in the past year, n (%) = Yes | 4 | 454 (23) | 147 (31) | 7 (23) | 27 (27) | 113 (32) | 0.372 | 147 (18) | 17 (11) | 130 (20) | 0.010 | 160 (25) | 31 (21) | 83 (25) | 46 (30) | 0.156 |
| Farm visits in the past year, n (%) = Yes | 9 | 181 (9) | 85 (18) | 10 (33) | 14 (14) | 61 (17) | 0.050 | 79 (10) | 25 (16) | 54 (8) | 0.005 | 17 (3) | 2 (1) | 7 (2) | 8 (5) | 0.067 |
| Travel to high risk areas for AR in the past year, n (%) = Yesf | 18 | 658 (34) | 241 (51) | 13 (43) | 42 (42) | 186 (54) | 0.083 | 291 (36) | 52 (33) | 239 (36) | 0.501 | 126 (20) | 45 (30) | 32 (10) | 49 (33) | < 0.001 |
| Carriage of ESBL-producing E. coli, n (%) = Positive | 163 | 236 (13) | 26 (7) | 0 (0) | 5 (6) | 21 (8) | 0.218 | 47 (6) | 7 (4) | 40 (6) | 0.532 | 163 (28) | 27 (23) | 118 (36) | 18 (12) | < 0.001 |
| Carriage of ESBL-producing KESC bacteria, n (%) = Positive | 163 | 67 (4) | 4 (1) | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 3 (1) | 0.845 | 4 (0) | 3 (2) | 1 (0) | 0.029 | 59 (10) | 12 (10) | 35 (11) | 12 (8) | 0.740 |
Bold data indicates a p-value equal to or under 0.05. ESBL Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases, AR Antibiotic Resistance
aNo data from nearby residents were collected inthe Netherlands
bDistant residents live at least 1000 m away from a WWTP
cNearby residents live within a 300 m radius from a WWTP
dEducational level according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED): Low = ISCED 0–2 (Pre-primary education to Lower secondary education), High = ISCED ≥ 3 (Upper secondary education to Doctoral or equivalent)
eWork with patients or human tissues in the past year: Includes self-reported contact with patients at work and with human tissues (e.g. blood, urine, sputum, feces, vomit, saliva, or primary cell lines)
fTravel to high risk areas for AR in the past year: Includes travels to North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Central and South America, as well as the European countries Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Slovenia