Demographic and behavioural characteristics of pregnant adolescents in comparison with other age categories
| Variable | All women | 15–19 years | 20–24 years | >25 years | P value |
| N=752 | N=180 | N=291 | N=281 | ||
| Age, median (IQR) | 23 (20–27) | 18 (17–19) | 22 (21–23) | 28 (26–32) | — |
| Gestational age (weeks) at 1st booking, median (IQR) | 17 (13–22) | 17 (12.5–22.5) | 17 (13–22) | 17 (12–21) | 0.532 |
| Gravidity, mean (SD) | 1.7 (0.9) | 1.7 (0.8) | 1.7 (0.9) | 1.7 (0.9) | 0.496 |
| Occupation, n (%) | |||||
| Employed | 191 (25.4) | 49 (27.2) | 73 (25.1) | 69 (24.6) | 0.919 |
| Student | 255 (33.9) | 62 (34.4) | 91 (31.3) | 102 (36.3) | |
| Unemployed/at home | 306 (40.7) | 69 (38.3) | 127 (43.6) | 110 (39.1) | |
| Partner's age (years), median (IQR) | 27 (23–31) | 26 (23–30) | 27 (24–31) | 27 (23–32) | 0.393 |
| Partner >5 years older, n (%) | 331 (44.0) | 130 (72.6) | 149 (51.4) | 52 (18.6) | <0.0001 |
| Relationship status, n (%) | |||||
| Living together | 98 (13.0) | 25 (13.9) | 37 (12.7) | 36 (12.8) | 0.354 |
| Not living together | 650 (86.4) | 155 (86.1) | 251 (86.3) | 244 (86.8) | |
| Missing data (n) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Coital frequency in the last 3 months, mean (SD) | 9.6 (10.9) | 9.9 (10.2) | 10.4 (11.4) | 0.78 | |
| Concurrent sexual partners, n (%) | 10 (10.8) | 3 (2.9) | 9 (5.2) | 6 (4.1) | 0.283 |
| Forced to have unprotected sex, n (%) | 18 (2.4) | 6 (3.4) | 8 (2.8) | 11 (3.9) | 0.738 |
| Partner’s HIV status, n (%) | |||||
| Negative | 441 (58.6) | 100 (55.6) | 185 (63.6) | 156 (55.5) | 0.084 |
| Positive | 19 (2.5) | 2 (1.1) | 6 (2.1) | 11 (3.9) | |
| Unknown | 291 (38.7) | 77 (42.8) | 100 (34.4) | 114 (40.6) | |
| Missing data | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Symptomatic for GTI at baseline, n | 312 | 82 | 111 | 119 | 0.48 |
| Abnormal vaginal discharge, n (%) | 303 (97.1) | 80 (97.6) | 107 (96.4) | 116 (97.5) | |
| Genital sores/blisters, n (%) | 9 (2.9) | 2 (2.4) | 4 (3.6) | 3 (2.5) |
GTI, genital tract infection.