Table 1

Characteristics of the study population by nationality, women attending women's primary healthcare centres, Doha, Qatar, 2008

 Qatari
(N=133)
Non-Qatari
(N=218)
Total
(N=351)
p Value
n (%)*n (%)*n (%)*
Sociodemographic and lifestyle indicators
 Age
  20–2914 (10.7)35 (16.1)49 (14.0)
  30–3933 (25.2)67 (30.9)101 (28.9)
  40–4954 (41.2)74 (34.1)128 (36.7)
  ≥5030 (22.9)41 (18.9)71 (20.3)0.221
 Mean (SD)42.45 (9.43)40.52 (10.21)41.24 (9.96)0.079
 Current marital status
  Married112 (86.2)207 (97.2)319 (93.0)
  Non-married18 (13.8)6 (2.8)24 (7.0)<0.001
 Educational level
  None46 (35.9)18 (8.3)64 (18.6)
  School54 (42.2)71 (32.9)125 (36.3)
  College28 (21.9)127 (58.8)155 (45.1)<0.001
 Smoking
  Yes4 (3.1)16 (7.4)20 (5.8)
  No126 (96.9)200 (92.6)326 (94.2)0.095
Reproductive and medical history
 Number of children
  06 (4.6)9 (4.1)15 (4.3)
  1–330 (22.9)128 (58.7)158 (45.3)
  ≥495 (72.5)81 (37.2)176 (50.4)<0.001
 Mean (SD)5.44 (3.05)3.21 (1.93)4.05 (2.64)<0.001
 Previous miscarriage
  072 (54.5)131 (61.2)203 (58.7)
  1–245 (34.1)69 (32.2)114 (32.9)
  ≥315 (11.4)14 (6.5)29 (8.4)0.227
 Mean (SD)0.95 (1.40)0.69 (1.16)0.79 (1.26)0.056
 Current oral contraceptive use
  Yes8 (6.2)17 (8.2)25 (7.4)
  No121 (93.8)190 (91.8)311 (92.6)0.495
 STD history
  Yes0 (0.0)1 (0.5)1 (0.3)
  No132 (100.0)211 (99.5)343 (99.7)0.999
 Frequency of Pap smear
  Never37 (28.9)68 (32.5)105 (31.2)
  Regular13 (10.2)35 (16.7)48 (14.2)
  Irregular78 (60.9)106 (50.7)184 (54.6)0.118
 Family history of cervical cancer
  Yes8 (6.1)18 (8.3)26 (7.4)
  No124 (93.9)198 (91.7)323 (92.6)0.434
Sexual behaviour
 Age of sexual debut
  ≤15 years30 (23.3)21 (10.0)51 (15.0)
  >15 years99 (76.7)190 (90.0)289 (85.0)0.001
 Mean (SD)19.91 (5.17)22.15 (5.19)21.31 (5.29)<0.001
 Number of years since sexual debut
  <1024 (18.3)58 (27.0)82 (23.7)
  10–1938 (29.0)79 (36.7)117 (33.8)
  20–2942 (32.1)46 (21.4)88 (25.4)
  ≥3027 (20.6)32 (14.9)59 (17.1)0.026
 Mean (SD)19.92 (11.06)17.00 (10.06)18.08 (10.52)0.012
 Number of lifetime sexual partners
  1115 (89.8)205 (96.2)320 (93.8)
  212 (9.4)6 (2.8)18 (5.3)
  ≥31 (0.8)2 (0.9)3 (0.9)0.023
 Mean (SD)1.11 (0.34)1.05 (0.30)1.07 (0.31)0.110
Chlamydia trachomatis infection
 Chlamydia trachomatis results
  Negative126 (94.7)206 (94.5)332 (94.6)0.923
  Positive7 (5.3)12 (5.5)19 (5.4)
  • NB: Numbers do not necessarily add up to the total because of missing values, and numbers in bold represent significance at p<0.05.

  • STD, sexually transmitted disease.

  • *Column percentages.