Occupational and Industry Prevalence of New Long-Term Symptoms Within American Red Cross Blood Donors with and Without History of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Details

• Personal Author:
  Edwards DL ; Ford ND ; Haynes J ; Jones JM ; Rinsky, Jessica L. ; Saydah SH ; Shah MM ; Shi, Dallas S. ; Spencer B
• Description:
  Purpose: Limited information is known about the burden of Long COVID by occupation and industry. This study compares the occurrence of self-reported new long-term symptoms lasting 4 weeks or longer among blood donors with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection by occupation and industry. Methods: The American Red Cross invited blood donors 18 years and older who donated during May 4-December 31, 2021 to participate in online surveys. New long-term symptoms lasting 4 weeks or longer were assessed by self-reported occurrence of any of 35 symptoms since March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 infection status was determined by serological testing and self-report. We describe the prevalence of new long-term symptoms by SARS-CoV-2 infection status. We calculate the difference in reported new long-term symptoms by SARS-CoV-2 infection status within occupation and industry categories. Results: Data were collected from 27,907 employed adults - 9763 were previously infected and 18,234 were never infected with SARS-CoV-2. New long-term symptoms were more prevalent among those previously infected compared to the never-infected respondents (45% vs 24%, p < 0.05). Among all respondents, new long-term symptoms by occupation ranged from 26% (installation, maintenance, and repair) to 41% (healthcare support) and by industry ranged from 26% (mining) to 55% (accommodation and food services). New long-term neurological and other symptoms were commonly reported by those previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. Discussion: New long-term symptoms are more prevalent among certain occupation and industry groups, which likely reflects differential exposure to SARS-CoV-2. These findings highlight potential need for workplace accommodations in a variety of occupational settings to address new long-term symptoms. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Communicable Diseases Epidemiology Hematologic Tests Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: COVID-19 Blood Samples COVID-19 Industry Long COVID Occupation Occupational Exposure Occupations Post-COVID Conditions SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Birmingham Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA] ; District of Columbia ; Georgia ; Ohio ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070196
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2024 Dec; 67(12):1108-1120
• Contact Point Address:
  Deja L. Edwards MPH, Eagle Global Scientific, Huntsville, AL, 35806
• Email:
  pyd4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4e37b59d3b45734528c06d01d2fd0ef382a1f40a1a074388b019ccf795c40ebf81e13897293fe5458f7d57bed665ed64609c1f3b99b2b423b8dacbeee1922df7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208453/cdc_208453_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.02 MB ]