tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Lancet Reg Health Am
. 2022 Mar;7:100170.
doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2021.100170. Epub 2021 Dec 31.
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and social inequalities in different subgroups of healthcare workers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Roberta Fernandes Correia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ana Carolina Carioca da Costa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Daniella Campelo Batalha Cox Moore[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Saint Clair Gomes Junior[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Paula Carneiro de Oliveira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Célia Chaves Zuma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Rômulo Gonçalves Galvani[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Wilson Savino[SUP] 2 4 5 [/SUP], Adriana Cesar Bonomo[SUP] 2 4 5 [/SUP], Zilton Farias Meira Vasconcelos[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elizabeth Artmann[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 has exacerbated health inequalities worldwide. Yet, such a perspective has not been investigated in specific healthcare workers and their resulting inclusion as a priority group for vaccination have been an important focus of political and social discussion. This study aimed at investigating whether SARS-CoV-2-seropositivity in healthcare workers in a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was influenced by social determinants of health and the social vulnerability in subgroups of workers.
Methods: A serological survey was conducted in 1,154 healthcare workers in June and July 2020. The association between the serological test results for detection of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and socioeconomic, occupational characteristics and transportation used by the workers to commute was assessed using the Pearson´s chi-square test and Cramer's V.
Findings: Overall, the serum prevalence for the virus in the healthcare workers was 30% (342/1141). Non-white workers (208/561) with lower income (169/396) and schooling (150/353), as well as users of the mass transportation system (157/246) showed the highest infection rates. Importantly they mostly corresponded to hospital support workers (131/324), in particular the cleaning personnel (42/70). Accordingly, income, schooling and work modality appeared as negative predictors, as ascertained by forest plot analysis.
Interpretations: The data clearly illustrate the inequality in SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Brazilian population, comprising even healthcare workers of the Brazilian unified health system.
Keywords: COVID-19; IgG, Immunoglobulin G; SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence; SARS-CoV-2, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; healthcare professionals; healthcare workers; inequality; social determinants of health; support workers.
. 2022 Mar;7:100170.
doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2021.100170. Epub 2021 Dec 31.
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and social inequalities in different subgroups of healthcare workers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Roberta Fernandes Correia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ana Carolina Carioca da Costa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Daniella Campelo Batalha Cox Moore[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Saint Clair Gomes Junior[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Paula Carneiro de Oliveira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Célia Chaves Zuma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Rômulo Gonçalves Galvani[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Wilson Savino[SUP] 2 4 5 [/SUP], Adriana Cesar Bonomo[SUP] 2 4 5 [/SUP], Zilton Farias Meira Vasconcelos[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elizabeth Artmann[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35005692
- PMCID: PMC8718903
- DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2021.100170
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 has exacerbated health inequalities worldwide. Yet, such a perspective has not been investigated in specific healthcare workers and their resulting inclusion as a priority group for vaccination have been an important focus of political and social discussion. This study aimed at investigating whether SARS-CoV-2-seropositivity in healthcare workers in a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was influenced by social determinants of health and the social vulnerability in subgroups of workers.
Methods: A serological survey was conducted in 1,154 healthcare workers in June and July 2020. The association between the serological test results for detection of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and socioeconomic, occupational characteristics and transportation used by the workers to commute was assessed using the Pearson´s chi-square test and Cramer's V.
Findings: Overall, the serum prevalence for the virus in the healthcare workers was 30% (342/1141). Non-white workers (208/561) with lower income (169/396) and schooling (150/353), as well as users of the mass transportation system (157/246) showed the highest infection rates. Importantly they mostly corresponded to hospital support workers (131/324), in particular the cleaning personnel (42/70). Accordingly, income, schooling and work modality appeared as negative predictors, as ascertained by forest plot analysis.
Interpretations: The data clearly illustrate the inequality in SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Brazilian population, comprising even healthcare workers of the Brazilian unified health system.
Keywords: COVID-19; IgG, Immunoglobulin G; SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence; SARS-CoV-2, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; healthcare professionals; healthcare workers; inequality; social determinants of health; support workers.