National population prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in Scotland during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health
; 198: 102-105, 2021 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34411992
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Studies that measure the prevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ('seroprevalence') are essential to understand population exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. We aimed to measure seroprevalence in the Scottish population over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic - from before the first recorded case in Scotland through to the second pandemic wave. STUDYDESIGN:
The study design of this study is serial cross sectional.METHODS:
We tested 41,477 residual samples retrieved from primary and antenatal care settings across Scotland for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies over a 12-month period from December 2019-December 2020 (before rollout of COVID-19 vaccination). Five-weekly rolling seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for the sensitivity and specificity of the assays and weighted to reference populations. Temporal trends in seroprevalence estimates and weekly SARS-CoV-2 notifications were compared.RESULTS:
Five-weekly rolling seroprevalence rates were 0% until the end of March, when they increased contemporaneously with the first pandemic wave. Seroprevalence rates remained stable through the summer (range 3%-5%) during a period of social restrictions, after which they increased concurrently with the second wave, reaching 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.4%-10.8%) in the week beginning 28th December in 2020. Seroprevalence rates were lower in rural vs. urban areas (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.70, 95% CI 0.61-0.79) and among individuals aged 20-39 years and 60 years and older (AOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.64-0.86; AOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.91, respectively) relative to those aged 0-19 years.CONCLUSIONS:
After two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, less than one in ten individuals in the Scottish population had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Seroprevalence may underestimate the true population exposure as a result of waning antibodies among individuals who were infected early in the first wave.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Contexto em Saúde:
4_TD
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pandemias
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Public Health
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article