Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health (Sep 2022)

Occupation and SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among 108 960 workers during the first pandemic wave in Germany

  • Marvin Reuter,
  • Mariann Rigó,
  • Maren Formazin,
  • Falk Liebers,
  • Ute Latza,
  • Stefanie Castell,
  • Karl-Heinz Jöckel,
  • Karin Halina Greiser,
  • Karin B Michels,
  • Gérard Krause,
  • Stefan Albrecht,
  • Ilter Öztürk,
  • Oliver Kuss,
  • Klaus Berger,
  • Benedikt MJ Lampl,
  • Michael Leitzmann,
  • Hajo Zeeb,
  • Karla Romero Starke,
  • Sabine Schipf,
  • Claudia Meinke-Franze,
  • Wolfgang Ahrens,
  • Andreas Seidler,
  • Bianca Klee,
  • Tobias Pischon,
  • Andreas Deckert,
  • Börge Schmidt,
  • Rafael Mikolajczyk,
  • André Karch,
  • Barbara Bohn,
  • Hermann Brenner,
  • Bernd Holleczek,
  • Nico Dragano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4037
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 48, no. 6
pp. 446 – 456

Abstract

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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the occupational risk for a SARS-CoV-2 infection in a nationwide sample of German workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (1 February–31 August 2020). METHODS: We used the data of 108 960 workers who participated in a COVID follow-up survey of the German National Cohort (NAKO). Occupational characteristics were derived from the German Classification of Occupations 2010 (Klassifikation der Berufe 2010). PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections were assessed from self-reports. Incidence rates (IR) and incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated using robust Poisson regression, adjusted for person-time at risk, age, sex, migration background, study center, working hours, and employment relationship. RESULTS: The IR was 3.7 infections per 1000 workers [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.3–4.1]. IR differed by occupational sector, with the highest rates observed in personal (IR 4.8, 95% CI 4.0–5.6) and business administration (IR 3.4, 95% CI 2.8–3.9) services and the lowest rates in occupations related to the production of goods (IR 2.0, 95% CI 1.5–2.6). Infections were more frequent among essential workers compared with workers in non-essential occupations (IRR 1.95, 95% CI 1.59–2.40) and among highly skilled compared with skilled professions (IRR 1.36, 95% CI 1.07–1.72). CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasize higher infection risks in essential occupations and personal-related services, especially in the healthcare sector. Additionally, we found evidence that infections were more common in higher occupational status positions at the beginning of the pandemic.

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