Factors Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk among Healthcare Workers of an Italian University Hospital.

ABSTRACT

We report the results of a study on the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in about 6000 workers of the University Hospital of Modena, Northern Italy, in the period March 2020-January 2021, and the relations with some individual and occupational factors. Overall, in healthcare workers (HCW) the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 during the period was 13.8%. Results confirm the role of overweight and obesity as significant risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, also proved to be significantly associated with the infection rate. Considering occupational factors, the COVID-19 risk was about threefold (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.7-4.5) greater in nurses and nurse aides than in non-HCW, and about double (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2-3.2) in physicians. Interestingly, an association was also observed between infection risk and nightshifts at work (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.4-2.3), significantly related to the total number of shifts in the whole eleven-month period. Even if the vaccination campaign has now greatly modified the scenario of SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCW, the results of this study can be useful for further development of health and policy strategies to mitigate the occupational risk related to the new variants of coronavirus, and therefore the evolution of the pandemic.