Table 1 Characteristics of pregnant women screened for chlamydia
VariablesMedian (range) or n (%)*
Age in years (range)23 (16–25)
Country of birth
    Australia568 (57.5)
    Other†419 (42.5)
Preferred language other than English
    No800 (81.1)
    Yes‡187 (18.9)
Socio-economic indexes for areas¶
    1241 (24.4)
    2147 (14.9)
    2,3108 (10.9)
    3175 (17.7)
    495 (9.6)
Number of prior births
    0660 (66.9)
    1252 (25.5)
    >173 (7.4)
Self-report of prior chlamydia testing
    Yes131 (13.3)
    No708 (71.7)
    Unsure141 (14.4)
Months since last chlamydia test (range)§18 (1–96)
Gestation in weeks (range)27 (5–42)
No. of male sexual partners in past year (range)1 (0–50)
  • *The total numbers may not equal 987 because of missing data; †19% were born in Asia, 6.7% in Africa, 5.2% in Europe, 5.1% in the Middle East, 3.7% in New Zealand and 1.4% in the Pacific; 2% were identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander;

  • ‡preferred languages other than English included Arabic (3%), languages from Sudan and the horn of Africa (3%), Vietnamese (2.5%), Indian languages (2.2%), Chinese languages (1.7%), Urdu (1.3%), Dari (0.6%), Khmer (0.6%), Macedonian (0.5%) and Turkish (0.5%); ¶Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) indicate a continuum of advantage (high values) to disadvantage (low values) and have been allocated based on postal area of residence. The index takes into account variables such as income, education and employment. Some postal areas cross-multiple SEIFA areas: only the most frequent combinations have been listed; §self-reported estimate from the 131 women who reported prior chlamydia testing.