Demographic and sexual risk behaviour characteristics of backpackers and a comparison group attending SSHC
| Men | Women | |||||
| N=6645 | N=6313 | |||||
| Backpackers | Comparison | p Value | Backpackers | Comparison | p Value | |
| N=2765 | N=3880 | N=2937 | N=3376 | |||
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 25 (23–27) | 26 (24–29) | <0.001 | 25 (23–27) | 25 (23–28) | <0.001 |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 25.3 (3) | 26 (3) | <0.001 | 24.7 (3) | 25.0 (3) | <0.001 |
| Country of birth, n (%) | ||||||
| Australia | — | 2388 (62) | — | — | 2061 (61) | — |
| England | 1310 (47) | 206 (5) | <0.001 | 1313 (45) | 147 (4) | <0.001 |
| Ireland | 593 (21) | 45 (1) | <0.001 | 504 (17) | 32 (1) | |
| New Zealand | 293 (11) | 166 (4) | <0.001 | 255 (9) | 101 (3) | <0.001 |
| Canada | 87 (3) | 17 (0.44) | <0.001 | 151 (5) | 10 (0.30) | <0.001 |
| Other | 479 (17) | 1058 (27) | <0.001 | 717 (24) | 1021 (30) | <0.001 |
| Marital status, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| Never married | 2610 (95) | 3305 (85) | 2706 (92) | 2726 (81) | ||
| Married/cohabiting | 105 (4) | 361 (9) | 157 (5) | 402 (12) | ||
| Other unknown | 44 (2) | 211 (5) | 40 (1) | 136 (4) | ||
| English spoken at home, n (%) | 2471 (90) | 3480 (90) | 0.887 | 2500 (85) | 2940 (87) | 0.0154 |
| Cigarette smoking, n (%) | 1066 (39) | 1311 (34) | <0.001 | 1220 (42) | 1221 (36) | <0.001 |
| Excess alcohol, n (%) | 472 (17) | 209 (5) | <0.001 | 794 (27) | 467 (14) | <0.001 |
| Condom use in past 3 months, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| No sex | 249 (9) | 402 (10) | 262 (9) | 349 (10) | ||
| Always | 614 (22) | 816 (21) | 662 (23) | 604 (18) | ||
| No condom | 644 (23) | 1152 (30) | 797 (27) | 1154 (34) | ||
| Sometimes (<50%) | 517 (19) | 655 (17) | 488 (17) | 553 (16) | ||
| Usually (>50%) | 677 (25) | 688 (18) | 654 (22) | 571 (17) | ||
| Unknown | 57 (2) | 163 (4) | 77 (3) | 141 (4) | ||
| No of opposite sex partners in past 3 months, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| None | 271 (10) | 510 (13) | 303 (10) | 428 (13) | ||
| One | 1137 (41) | 1972 (51) | 1743 (59) | 2191 (65) | ||
| Two | 640 (23) | 790 (20) | 588 (20) | 501 (15) | ||
| Three or more | 710 (26) | 605 (16) | 306 (10) | 253 (7) | ||
| Injecting drug use ever, n (%) | 32 (1) | 235 (6) | <0.001 | 20 (0.7) | 130 (4) | <0.001 |
IQR, interquartile range; SSHC, Sydney Sexual Health Centre.