Table 2

Use of the Internet for health information seeking: multivariate logistic regression (Number of observations = 1931)

% of Internet users

aOR*

95% CI

P**

Gender

< 0.0001

Men

49.0

1

-

Women

51.0

1.64

1.29–2.07

Age group (years)

< 0.001

> 59

10.6

1

-

45–59

22.8

1.54

1.01–2.36

30–44

36.2

1.81

1.19–2.75

< 30

30.4

2.73

1.71–4.38

Level of education

0.001

None/Primary

1.4

1

-

Secondary

32.5

1.47

0.60–3.60

Postsecondary

66.1

2.39

0.97–5.85

Monthly household income (€/CU)

0.020

1^st quartile

25.6

1

-

2^nd quartile

24.5

1.62

1.17–2.24

3^rd quartile

24.8

1.59

1.10–2.29

4^th quartile

25.1

1.39

0.94–2.05

Social integration

< 0.001

Isolated

12.0

1

-

Helped

4.9

1.51

0.79–2.88

Integrated

83.1

2.31

1.54–3.47

Lives in a couple relationship

0.020

No

37.8

1

-

Yes

62.2

1.35

1.05–1.73

Current health problem(s)

0.007

No

34.9

1

-

Yes

65.1

1.44

1.11–1.87

Relative with current health problem(s)

0.002

No

48.3

1

-

Yes

51.7

1.44

1.14–1.82

Perception of mental health

0.024

Good

18.7

1

-

Poor

81.3

1.41

1.05–1.91

Worries about health more than others

0.040

No

75.9

1

-

Yes

24.1

1.32

1.01–1.71

Difficulties understanding information from GP

0.049

No

52.2

1

-

Yes

47.8

1.27

1.01–1.60

Frequency of Internet use

< 0.0001

Low

22.2

1

-

High

77.8

2.96

2.15–4.07

Home connection

0.014

No

21.4

1

-

Yes

78.6

1.47

1.08–1.99

Years with access

< 0.001

< 1

12.9

1

-

1–3

28.9

1.37

0.94–2.02

4–6

35.7

1.63

1.11–2.41

> 7

22.5

2.45

1.60–3.76

* Adjusted odds ratio

** Overall p_value based on the Type III Wald statistic

Renahy et al. BMC Public Health 2008 8:69   doi:10.1186/1471-2458-8-69