Dietary habits, traveling and the living situation potentially influence the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection: results from healthcare workers participating in the RisCoin Study

Wratil, Paul R. ; Le Thi, Thu Giang; Osterman, Andreas; Badell, Irina; Huber, Melanie; Zhelyazkova, Ana; Wichert, Sven P.; Litwin, Anna; Hörmansdorfer, Stefan; Strobl, Frances; Grote, Veit; Jebrini, Tarek; Török, Helga P.; Hornung, Veit; Choukér, Alexander ; Koletzko, Berthold ; Adorjan, Kristina ; Koletzko, Sibylle und Keppler, Oliver T. (4. März 2024): Dietary habits, traveling and the living situation potentially influence the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection: results from healthcare workers participating in the RisCoin Study. In: Infection, Bd. 52, Nr. 4: S. 1425-1437

Abstract

Purpose To explore occupational and non-occupational risk and protective factors for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in healthcare workers (HCWs).

Methods Serum specimens and questionnaire data were obtained between October 7 and December 16, 2021 from COVID-19-vaccinated HCWs at a quaternary care hospital in Munich, Germany, and were analyzed in the RisCoin Study.

Results Of 3,696 participants evaluated, 6.6% have had COVID-19 at least once. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified working in patient care occupations (7.3% had COVID-19, 95% CI 6.4–8.3, Pr = 0.0002), especially as nurses, to be a potential occupation-related COVID-19 risk factor. Non-occupational factors significantly associated with high rates of the disease were contacts to COVID-19 cases in the community (12.8% had COVID-19, 95% CI 10.3–15.8, Pr < 0.0001), being obese (9.9% had COVID-19, 95% CI 7.1–13.5, Pr = 0.0014), and frequent traveling abroad (9.4% had COVID-19, 95% CI 7.1–12.3, Pr = 0.0088). On the contrary, receiving the basic COVID-19 immunization early during the pandemic (5.9% had COVID-19, 95% CI 5.1–6.8, Pr < 0.0001), regular smoking (3.6% had COVID-19, 95% CI 2.1–6.0, Pr = 0.0088), living with the elderly (3.0% had COVID-19, 95% CI 1.0–8.0, Pr = 0.0475), and frequent consumption of ready-to-eat meals (2.6% had COVID-19, 95% CI 1.1–5.4, Pr = 0.0045) were non-occupational factors potentially protecting study participants against COVID-19.

Conclusion The newly discovered associations between the living situation, traveling as well as dietary habits and altered COVID-19 risk can potentially help refine containment measures and, furthermore, contribute to new mechanistic insights that may aid the protection of risk groups and vulnerable individuals.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin > Max-von-Pettenkofer-Institut für Hygiene und Medizinische Mikrobiologie
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 0300-8126
• Sprache: Englisch