SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Prevalence in the Portuguese Municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia after the First Wave of the Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence may detect the real spread of the virus because antibody data can provide a long-lasting measure of infection. Existing serological studies in Portugal have tested new serology methods, albeit with small sample sizes and a lack the focus on geographical regions with a high rate of infection cases. The aim of this study was to estimate the serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Vila Nova de Gaia, the most populous municipality in the north of Portugal and one of those most affected during the first pandemic wave. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted between June 23rd and July 17th, 2020. Included in the cohort were 18- to 74-year-old men and women living in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia, who were sampled through a nonprobabilistic quota-based approach. Cases with a previous RT-PCR diagnosis of COVID-19 were excluded. Sociodemographic and clinical information was collected using a self-administered, written questionnaire. Blood samples were collected for serological laboratory analysis to detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 anti-IgG antibodies. RESULTS: We tested 2754 participants. Our results show a SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence of 3.03% (95% confidence interval: 2.37% - 3.87%). Being a smoker (odds ratio: 0.382, 95% confidence interval: 0.147 - 0.99) and having symptoms of COVID-19 (odds ratio: 2.480, 95% confidence interval: 1.360 - 4.522) were consistently associated with lower and higher odds of SARS-CoV-2 antibody presence, respectively, regardless of the analytic design. Moreover, without adjusting for any variables, having had contact with an infected person within the household was associated with increased odds of a positive test (odds ratio: 9.684, 95% confidence interval: 4.06 - 23.101); after adjusting, having self-reported chronic diseases (odds ratio: 0.448, 95% confidence interval: 0.213 - 0.941) was associated with decreased odds. CONCLUSION: This was the first study to estimate the serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in one of the most populous municipalities in Portugal, representing the first step in the development of an epidemiological surveillance system in Portugal, which can help to improve the diagnosis of COVID-19.

Persistence of IgG COVID-19 antibodies: A longitudinal analysis.

Background and aim: The kinetics of antibody production in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is not well-defined yet. This study aimed to evaluate the antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and its dynamics during 9-months in a cohort of patients infected during the first phase of the pandemic. As a secondary aim, it was intended to evaluate the factors associated with different concentrations of IgG antibodies. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from June 2020 to January 2021. This study recruited a convenience sample of adult individuals who where recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and were living in mainland Portugal. A total of 1,695 blood samples were collected from 585 recovered COVID-19 patients up to 9 months after SARS-CoV-2 acute infection. A blood sample was collected at baseline and three, 6 and 9 months after SARS-CoV-2 acute infection to assess the concentration of IgG antibody against SARS-CoV-2. Results: The positivity rate of IgG reached 77.7% in the first 3 months after symptom onset. The IgG persists at all subsequent follow-up time-points, which was 87.7 and 89.2% in the 6th and 9th months after symptom onset, respectively. Three distinct kinetics of antibody response were found within the 9 months after infection. Kinetic 1 (K1) was characterized by a constant low IgG antibody concentration kinetic (group size: 65.2%); kinetic 2 (K2), composed by constant moderate IgG kinetic (group size: 27.5%) and kinetic 3 (K3) characterized by higher IgG kinetic (group size: 7.3%). People with ≥56 years old (OR: 3.33; CI 95%: [1.64; 6.67]; p-value: 0.001) and symptomatic COVID-19 (OR: 2.08; CI 95%: [1.08; 4.00]; p-value: 0.031) had higher odds of a "Moderate IgG kinetic." No significant association were found regarding the "Higher IgG kinetic." Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a lasting anti-spike (anti-S) IgG antibody response at least 9 months after infection in the majority of patients with COVID-19. Younger participants with asymptomatic disease have lower IgG antibody positivity and possibly more susceptible to reinfection. This information contributes to expanding knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 immune response and has direct implications in the adoption of preventive strategies and public health policies.

Educação física, desporto e género: o caminho percorrido na Faculdade de Desporto da Universidade do Porto (Portugal) / Physical education, sports and gender: the evolution at the Sport Faculty of Porto University (Portugal) / Educación Física, deporte y género: el camino recorrido en la Facultad de Deporte de la Universidad de Oporto (Portugal)

Em Portugal, a inclusão do desporto nos estudos de género é relativamente recente. A investigação em ciências do desporto ainda não conferiu a devida importância ao carácter estruturante do género nas práticas físicas e desportivas. São, assim, escassos os estudos, teóricos e empíricos, que conjuguem género e desporto. Neste trabalho pretendemos fazer o levantamento dos diferentes tipos de produção académica no âmbito do desporto, da Educação Física e género, realizados na Faculdade de Desporto, entre os anos 2001 e 2005

The inclusion of sport into gender studies is very recent.In Portugal there are not many studies that combine gender and sport manly because the sports sciences research did not confine the relevance to the gender at the sport activities. With this work we want to do a survey concerning the different types of academic production about sports, Physical Education and gender that had been done at Sport Faculty between the years 2001 and 2005

En Portugal, la inclusión del deporte en los estudios de género es relativamente reciente. La investigación en las ciencias del deporte todavía no confiere una debida importancia al carácter estructurante del género en las prácticas físicas y deportivas. Entonces, son escasos los estudios teóricos o empíricos que confluyan género y deporte. Con este trabajo pretendemos realizar una búsqueda de diferentes tipos de producción académica en el ámbito del deporte, de la Educación Física y género, realizados en la Facultad de Deporte, entre los años 2001 y 2005