Estimation of differential occupational risk of COVID‐19 by comparing risk factors with case data by occupational group

Abstract

Background: The disease burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not uniform across occupations. Although healthcare workers are well-known to be at increased risk, data for other occupations are lacking. In lieu of this, models have been used to forecast occupational risk using various predictors, but no model heretofore has used data from actual case numbers. This study assesses the differential risk of COVID-19 by occupation using predictors from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database and correlating them with case counts published by the Washington State Department of Health to identify workers in individual occupations at highest risk of COVID-19 infection. Methods: The O*NET database was screened for potential predictors of differential COVID-19 risk by occupation. Case counts delineated by occupational group were obtained from public sources. Prevalence by occupation was estimated and correlated with O*NET data to build a regression model to predict individual occupations at greatest risk. Results: Two variables correlate with case prevalence: disease exposure (r = 0.66; p = 0.001) and physical proximity (r = 0.64; p = 0.002), and predict 47.5% of prevalence variance (p = 0.003) on multiple linear regression analysis. The highest risk occupations are in healthcare, particularly dental, but many nonhealthcare occupations are also vulnerable. Conclusions: Models can be used to identify workers vulnerable to COVID-19, but predictions are tempered by methodological limitations. Comprehensive data across many states must be collected to adequately guide implementation of occupationspecific interventions in the battle against COVID-19.

Occupation, Work-Related Contact, and SARS-CoV-2 Anti-Nucleocapsid Serological Status: Findings from the Virus Watch prospective cohort study

“…Occupation is a major determinant of health 1 . This relationship has played out in real-time during the COVID-19 pandemic with people's ability to work from home, practice social distancing, limit contact with potentially infectious individuals and work in well-ventilated conditions all shaped by their occupation 2,3,4 . Substantial occupational differences in severe illness and mortality have emerged in the UK and worldwide.…”

“…UK Biobank data suggested possible higher relative risk of severe COVID-19 for health and social care workers during the first pandemic wave compared to non-essential workers when adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and country of birth 5 ; however, occupational status was ascertained at study baseline (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) and may not fully account for changes in employment status. Official mortality data in the UK and Massachusetts USA suggest higher age-standardised mortality rates for workers in caring, personal service, food preparation and service, process and plant, and transportation occupations compared to the general population [6][7][8] or workers overall 3,9 . Transport workersspecifically bus and taxi drivers -also demonstrated elevated risk of death during the first pandemic wave in Sweden compared to other professions 10 .…”

“…Transport workersspecifically bus and taxi drivers -also demonstrated elevated risk of death during the first pandemic wave in Sweden compared to other professions 10 . Healthcare support workers, social care workers, construction and maintenance workers, and protective service workers also demonstrated excess mortality in the USA data 3,9 . These occupations are patient-or public-facing and/or require work outside the home 2,3,4 , potentially increasing SARS-CoV-2 exposure risk.…”

“…Healthcare support workers, social care workers, construction and maintenance workers, and protective service workers also demonstrated excess mortality in the USA data 3,9 . These occupations are patient-or public-facing and/or require work outside the home 2,3,4 , potentially increasing SARS-CoV-2 exposure risk. Occupational differences in severe illness and COVID-19 mortality may be related to workplace exposure, but this cannot be easily inferred from such studies.…”

2020: Archivos en tiempos de la COVID-19

“…En el momento de la redacción de esta nota editorial, seguimos mirando con preocupación y temor la evolución de la situación de la infección originada por el SARS-CoV-2, pero también con esperanza por el comienzo de la vacunación. Los retos que la pandemia ha representado y representa para la salud laboral son inmensos: cambios en las condiciones de trabajo, afectación del mercado laboral, aparición de nuevas formas de trabajo, el papel de los servicios de prevención en la lucha contra la transmisión de la enfermedad, así como en la detección y control de trabajadores infectados y sus contactos, el medio laboral como lugar de transmisión de la enfermedad o la identificación de trabajadores especialmente sensibles y vulnerables, son algunos de los ejemplos que podríamos citar (1)(2)(3)(4) .…”