TY - JOUR AU - Shah, Anoop S.V. AU - Wood, Rachael AU - Gribben, Ciara AU - Caldwell, David AU - Bishop, Jen AU - Weir, Amanda AU - Kennedy, Sharon AU - Reid, Martin AU - Smith-Palmer, Alison AU - Goldberg, David AU - Jim McMenamin AU - Fischbacher, Colin AU - Robertson, Chris AU - Hutchinson, Sharon J. AU - McKeigue, Paul M. AU - Colhoun, Helen M. AU - McAllister, David A. PY - 2020 DA - October TI - Risk of hospital admission with coronavirus disease 2019 in healthcare workers and their households: nationwide linkage cohort study JO - BMJ VL - 371 IS - 8266 DO - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3582 AB - Objective: Many healthcare staff work in high-risk settings for contracting and transmitting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. Their risk of hospitalisation for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and that of their households, is poorly understood. Design and settings and participants: During the peak period for COVID-19 infection in Scotland (1st March 2020 to 6th June 2020) we conducted a national record linkage study to compare the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation among healthcare workers (age: 18-65 years), their households and other members of the general population. Main outcome: Hospitalisation with COVID-19 Results: The cohort comprised 158,445 healthcare workers, the majority being patient facing (90,733 / 158,445; 57.3%), and 229,905 household members. Of all COVID-19 hospitalisations in the working age population (18-65-year-old), 17.2% (360 / 2,097) were in healthcare workers or their households. Adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, socio-economic deprivation and comorbidity, the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation in non-patient facing healthcare workers and their households was similar to the risk in the general population (hazards ratio [HR] 0.81; 95%CI 0.52-1.26 and 0.86; 95%CI 0.49-1.51 respectively). In models adjusting for the same covariates however, patient facing healthcare workers, compared to non-patient facing healthcare workers, were at higher risk (HR 3.30; 95%CI 2.13-5.13); so too were household members of patient facing healthcare workers (HR 1.79; 95%CI 1.10-2.91). On sub-dividing patient-facing healthcare workers into those who worked in front-door, intensive care and non-intensive care aerosol generating settings and other, those in front door roles were at higher risk (HR 2.09; 95%CI 1.49-2.94). For most patient facing healthcare workers and their households, the estimated absolute risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation was less than 0.5% but was 1% and above in older men with comorbidity. Conclusions: Healthcare workers and their households contribute a sixth of hospitalised COVID-19 cases. Whilst the absolute risk of hospitalisation was low overall, patient facing healthcare workers and their households had 3- and 2-fold increased risks of COVID-19 hospitalisation. PB - BMJ Publishing Group UR - http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/223320/ KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19) KW - Work and workforce KW - Hospital care ER