TY - JOUR

T1 - Occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection

T2 - A nationwide register-based study of the Danish workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-2021

AU - Bonde, Jens Peter Ellekilde

AU - Begtrup, Luise Moelenberg

AU - Jensen, Johan Høy

AU - Flachs, Esben Meulengracht

AU - Schlünssen, Vivi

AU - Kolstad, Henrik A.

AU - Jakobsson, Kristina

AU - Nielsen, Christel

AU - Nilsson, Kerstin

AU - Rylander, Lars

AU - Vilhelmsson, Andreas

AU - Petersen, Kajsa Kirstine Ugelvig

AU - Soegaard Toettenborg, Sandra

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Objective Most earlier studies on occupational risk of COVID-19 covering the entire workforce are based on relatively rare outcomes such as hospital admission and mortality. This study examines the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by occupational group based on real-time PCR (RT-PCR) tests. Methods The cohort includes 2.4 million Danish employees, 20-69 years of age. All data were retrieved from public registries. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of first-occurring positive RT-PCR test from week 8 of 2020 to week 50 of 2021 were computed by Poisson regression for each four-digit Danish Version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations job code with more than 100 male and 100 female employees (n=205). Occupational groups with low risk of workplace infection according to a job exposure matrix constituted the reference group. Risk estimates were adjusted by demographic, social and health characteristics including household size, completed COVID-19 vaccination, pandemic wave and occupation-specific frequency of testing. Results IRRs of SARS-CoV-2 infection were elevated in seven healthcare occupations and 42 occupations in other sectors, mainly social work activities, residential care, education, defence and security, accommodation and transportation. No IRRs exceeded 2.0. The relative risk in healthcare, residential care and defence/security declined across pandemic waves. Decreased IRRs were observed in 12 occupations. Discussion We observed a modestly increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among employees in numerous occupations, indicating a large potential for preventive actions. Cautious interpretation of observed risk in specific occupations is needed because of methodological issues inherent in analyses of RT-PCR test results and because of multiple statistical tests.

AB - Objective Most earlier studies on occupational risk of COVID-19 covering the entire workforce are based on relatively rare outcomes such as hospital admission and mortality. This study examines the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by occupational group based on real-time PCR (RT-PCR) tests. Methods The cohort includes 2.4 million Danish employees, 20-69 years of age. All data were retrieved from public registries. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of first-occurring positive RT-PCR test from week 8 of 2020 to week 50 of 2021 were computed by Poisson regression for each four-digit Danish Version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations job code with more than 100 male and 100 female employees (n=205). Occupational groups with low risk of workplace infection according to a job exposure matrix constituted the reference group. Risk estimates were adjusted by demographic, social and health characteristics including household size, completed COVID-19 vaccination, pandemic wave and occupation-specific frequency of testing. Results IRRs of SARS-CoV-2 infection were elevated in seven healthcare occupations and 42 occupations in other sectors, mainly social work activities, residential care, education, defence and security, accommodation and transportation. No IRRs exceeded 2.0. The relative risk in healthcare, residential care and defence/security declined across pandemic waves. Decreased IRRs were observed in 12 occupations. Discussion We observed a modestly increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among employees in numerous occupations, indicating a large potential for preventive actions. Cautious interpretation of observed risk in specific occupations is needed because of methodological issues inherent in analyses of RT-PCR test results and because of multiple statistical tests.

KW - epidemiology

KW - occupational health

KW - viruses

U2 - 10.1136/oemed-2022-108713

DO - 10.1136/oemed-2022-108713

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36813540

AN - SCOPUS:85150311258

VL - 80

SP - 202

EP - 208

JO - Occupational and Environmental Medicine

JF - Occupational and Environmental Medicine

SN - 1351-0711

IS - 4

ER -