Are there excess Sharons in genitourinary clinics?

Whether “Essex girls” Tracey, Sandra, and Sharon are really women of easy virtue is established, to establish whether these names are overrepresented among attenders in paediatricians' surgeries.

Abstract

Most doctors believe that they can determine the age and social class of a patient merely from hearing their name-but this has not been proved. In the 1990s, paediatricians seldom encounter Hildas or Ethels, and Kylies and Bradleys are yet to call on the services of elderly medicine. Stereotypes abound, but is it true that Camillas are more likely to have private medical insurance than Paulines? Above all, are those "Essex girls" Tracey, Sandra, and Sharon really women of easy virtue? With this in mind we set out to establish whether these names are overrepresented among attenders in departments of genitourinary medicine.