Aim: We aimed to detect the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) in 2020, before vaccination era. Methods: We surveyed the SARS-CoV-2 infection among the HCWs in a hospital by screening of antibody levels and detection of viral RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) between May 2020 to December 2020. Occupational and non-occupational potential predictors of disease were surveyed for the HCWs included in this study. Results: Among 1925 personnel in the hospital, 1732 were included to the study with the response rate of 90%. Overall seroprevalence was 15% at the end of 2020, before vaccinations started. In multivariate analysis, being janitorial staff (OR:2.24, CI:1.21-4.14, p=0.011), being medical secretary (OR: 4.17, CI: 2.12-8.18, p<0.001), having at least one household member with COVID-19 diagnosis (OR:8.98, CI: 6.64-12.15, p<0.001) and number of household members >3 (OR:1.67, CI:1.26-2.22, p<0.001) were found to be significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusion: By the end of 2020, just before the era of vaccination and variants, seroprevalence was 15% among HCWs. Medical secretary and janitorial staff were under increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Community-hospital gradient can explain the mode of transmission for infection among HCWs. In the setting of this study, community measures were less strict, whereas hospital infection control was adequate and provided necessary personal protective equipment. Increasing risk in larger households and households with diagnosed COVID-19 patient indicates community acquired transmission of the infection.
Turkey has the highest prevalence of diabetes and smoking in Europe (diabetes 13.7%; smoking 44% of men and 18% of women). Smokers with diabetes have a heightened risk of morbidity and mortality. The routine assessment of tobacco use as an essential to prevent smoking or encourage cessation.(ADA,2018) At present, little is known about the cessation services provided by diabetes professionals to their patients in Turkey. A nationwide survey was conducted to gather data on this topic. Utilizing a point prevalence methodology, data was collected from 24 provinces around Turkey. Diabetes nurses from 172 diabetes centers were invited to complete a survey (response rate 28.4%). The survey included 11 questions; patient demographics, type and duration of diabetes, patient smoking status, smoking and cessation behaviors after diabetes diagnosis, cessation recommendation from HCP. The survey with instruction + video about how to complete the survey were sent via e-mail and phone messages to the nurses. Surveys were completed on one clinic day between December 3-7,2018 to all diabetes patients. (Ethics 2018.229.IRB3.162) of patients (n=779), 59,4% is women; 86,3% has type 2 diabetes. Mean duration of diabetes 10,39 years; mean age is 54,97 years. Smoking prevalence is 26,8%. The highest smoking prevalence is 40,4% in men, while 19,0% in women. Of patients,19,3% smokes 10 cigarettes or more in a day; 26,2% is quitter while 10,7% of them quit after diabetes diagnosis; 80,1% believes any amount of smoking is harmful. As opposed to, 7.4% of patients believes 1-2 cigarettes in a day is not harmful, 6,0% believes that there is no relation between smoking and diabetes. Only 11,8% of smokers has quitting advice from HCP relating the risk of smoking for diabetes control. This nation-wide survey reveals the first data on smoking and cessation in Turkish people with diabetes. Findings shows that patients are not aware of the harm of tobacco. Behavior-based smoking cessation trainings will be applied for diabetes professionals in the light of these early data. Disclosure S. Ozcan: None. F. Gorurgoz: None. A. Carkoglu: None. Z. Akbulut: None. M. Nichter: None. M. Nichter: None.
We performed a prospective longitudinal cohort study in two healthcare settings. In total, 909 HCWs out of 3982 (23.35%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 before the vaccination era. Eighty-five per cent of COVID-19 positive HCWs (n = 774) were asymptomatic or mild, and 15% were moderate or severe. The mean age of the infected HCWs in the moderate or severe group was higher than the mild or asymptomatic group (35.4 vs. 31.3 years, p < 0.001). Thirty-two per cent of HCWs were male and the rate of male gender was more frequent in the moderate/severe group (p = 0.009). The rate of those who have cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.003) and diabetes mellitus (p = 0.044) were significantly higher among the HCWs with moderate or severe COVID-19. In multivariate analysis, male gender (OR:1.65, CI:1.11–2.46, p = 0.013), BMI > 30 (OR: 1.9, CI: 1.09–3.51, p = 0.024), and being physician (OR: 2.56, CI:1.45–4.52, p = 0.001) were found to be associated with moderate or severe COVID-19.
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