TY - JOUR
T1 - Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Essential Workers in a Community-Based Cohort in the United States
AU - Wei, Chih Fu
AU - Lan, Fan Yun
AU - Hsu, Yu Tien
AU - Lowery, Nina
AU - Dibona, Lauren
AU - Akkeh, Ream
AU - Kales, Stefanos N.
AU - Yang, Justin
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to express their appreciation to the support provided by Manet Community Health Center, and in particular Manet's CEO Ms. Cynthia Sierra and CMO Dr. Lily Yung. Additionally, the authors wish to acknowledge the insightful discussion with Dr. Alexander Creighton and Dr. Armin Fardis from the Fellowships & Writing Center at Harvard University.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Wei, Lan, Hsu, Lowery, Dibona, Akkeh, Kales and Yang.
PY - 2022/5/17
Y1 - 2022/5/17
N2 - Objectives: The objective of this paper is to identify the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection that are related to occupation type as well as workplace conditions. Identifying such risk factors could have noteworthy implications in workplace safety enhancement and emergency preparedness planning for essential workers. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of visits at a community-based SARS-CoV-2 testing site in the greater Boston area between March 18th and June 19th, 2020, for individuals between 14 and 65 years of age. Nasopharyngeal swab specimen, medical review, and self-administered questionnaire were obtained, and SARS-CoV-2 infection was determined with real-time, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Medical record-verified job classification, customer-facing, and work patterns were extracted from each individual's response through chart review and validated by licensed clinicians. The occupational patterns were coded by occupational medicine physicians with pre-specified criteria and were analyzed with logistic regression and inverse probability weighting. Results: Among the 780 individuals included in the final analysis, working in healthcare-related jobs was associated with a four-fold increase in risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Adjusted OR: 4.00, 95% CI: 1.45–11.02). Individuals with customer-facing jobs had a two times risk increase (Adjusted OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.12–3.45) in having a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay result compared to participants with non-customer facing positions. Conclusions: In this U.S. community-based population during the initial wave of the pandemic, a significant increase in risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed in those employed in the healthcare sector or with customer-facing positions. Further research is warranted to determine if these correlations continued with the buildup of population immunity together with the attenuation of SARS-CoV-2 virulence.
AB - Objectives: The objective of this paper is to identify the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection that are related to occupation type as well as workplace conditions. Identifying such risk factors could have noteworthy implications in workplace safety enhancement and emergency preparedness planning for essential workers. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of visits at a community-based SARS-CoV-2 testing site in the greater Boston area between March 18th and June 19th, 2020, for individuals between 14 and 65 years of age. Nasopharyngeal swab specimen, medical review, and self-administered questionnaire were obtained, and SARS-CoV-2 infection was determined with real-time, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Medical record-verified job classification, customer-facing, and work patterns were extracted from each individual's response through chart review and validated by licensed clinicians. The occupational patterns were coded by occupational medicine physicians with pre-specified criteria and were analyzed with logistic regression and inverse probability weighting. Results: Among the 780 individuals included in the final analysis, working in healthcare-related jobs was associated with a four-fold increase in risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Adjusted OR: 4.00, 95% CI: 1.45–11.02). Individuals with customer-facing jobs had a two times risk increase (Adjusted OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.12–3.45) in having a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay result compared to participants with non-customer facing positions. Conclusions: In this U.S. community-based population during the initial wave of the pandemic, a significant increase in risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed in those employed in the healthcare sector or with customer-facing positions. Further research is warranted to determine if these correlations continued with the buildup of population immunity together with the attenuation of SARS-CoV-2 virulence.
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U2 - 10.3389/fpubh.2022.878208
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2022.878208
M3 - Article
C2 - 35677773
AN - SCOPUS:85131659224
VL - 10
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
JF - Frontiers in Public Health
SN - 2296-2565
M1 - 878208
ER -