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Prevalence of Underlying Medical Conditions Among Selected Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers - Behavioral

Sharon R Silver1, Jia Li1, Winifred L Boal1

  • 1Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC.

MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
|September 11, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Essential workers in home health aide and nursing home industries face higher risks for severe COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions. Protecting these workers requires minimizing exposure and managing health risks.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Occupational Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Underlying medical conditions increase severe outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
  • Essential workers, critical for infrastructure, often have high SARS-CoV-2 exposure risk due to job requirements.
  • Prevalence of underlying conditions varies across industries and occupations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the baseline prevalence of underlying medical conditions among workers in essential occupations and industries.
  • To identify specific occupations and industries with higher risks for severe COVID-19 outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 2017-2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data.
  • Assessment of unadjusted prevalences and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for selected underlying conditions.
  • Focus on workers in six essential occupations and seven essential industries.

Main Results:

  • Workers in the home health aide occupation had significantly elevated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for numerous underlying conditions.
  • Workers in the nursing home/rehabilitation industry also showed significantly elevated aPRs for a large number of conditions.
  • These findings highlight specific occupational and industrial groups at higher risk.

Conclusions:

  • Home health aides and nursing home/rehabilitation workers are at elevated risk for severe COVID-19 due to underlying conditions.
  • Targeted interventions to minimize SARS-CoV-2 exposure are crucial for these essential workers.
  • Preventive and treatment strategies for underlying conditions are warranted to protect high-risk essential workers.

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