International Journal of General Medicine (Mar 2021)

Characteristics and Behaviors Associated with Prevalent SARS-CoV-2 Infection

  • Aung S,
  • Vittinghoff E,
  • Nah G,
  • Peyser ND,
  • Pletcher MJ,
  • Olgin JE,
  • Marcus GM

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 1063 – 1067

Abstract

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Sidney Aung,1 Eric Vittinghoff,2 Gregory Nah,1 Noah D Peyser,1 Mark J Pletcher,2 Jeffrey E Olgin,1 Gregory M Marcus1 1Division of Cardiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USACorrespondence: Gregory M MarcusUniversity of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, M1180B, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USATel +1 415-476-3450Fax +1 415-476-6260Email [email protected]: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), has been a serious threat to global health. Previous work has focused primarily on hospitalized patients or on identifying risk factors for disease severity and mortality once the infection has taken place. We sought to leverage the ubiquity of smartphones and mobile applications to study risk factors for Covid-19 infection in a large, geographically heterogenous cohort.Methods: We analyzed data obtained from the Covid-19 Citizen Science (CCS) Study, a worldwide, mobile application-based cohort. After employing forward selection to identify variables with p values < 0.1, multivariable logistic regression models were utilized to identify independent risk factors associated with prevalent SARS-CoV-2 infection.Results: Among 36,041 participants in 113 countries and all 50 states in the US, 484 participants had prevalent SARS-CoV-2 infection. After multivariable adjustment, being a healthcare worker, living with at least one school-aged child, having pets at home, and having immunodeficiency were each associated with an increased odds of SARS-CoV-2. The association between pets and prevalent SARS-CoV-2 was driven by dog ownership. After adjustment for the same covariates, Asian or Pacific Islander race, receiving a flu shot within the past year, increased level of education, and smoking or vaping marijuana within the last 30 days were each associated with a lower odds of SARS-CoV-2.Conclusion: We identified various characteristics and behaviors, many of which are potentially modifiable, associated with prevalent SARS-CoV-2 infection in a world-wide mobile application-based cohort.Keywords: COVID-19, epidemiology, cohort study, digital health, mobile applications

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