Effect of COVID-19 on healthcare workers' morbidity and mortality compared to the general population in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of recent coronaviruses on healthcare professionals cannot be ignored. This study compared the admission rates due to Covid-19 and characteristics of hospitalized healthcare workers with the general population of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad (K.B) province. 18546 hospitalized patients infected with Covid-19 in hospitals in four cities of K.B province were enrolled in this study; of them, 236 (1.27%) patients were healthcare workers. Demographic and clinical data of hospitalized cases due to Covid-19 infection were collected from August 2020 to September 2021. The underlying diseases were also considered in this study. According to our findings, 55.5% of the hospitalized healthcare workers were male, and 44.5% were female; their mean age was 41.41 years. However, in the general population, hospitalization rates were higher for women than for men (51.2% and 48.8%, respectively). Although the SARS-CoV-2 infectivity rate was higher in healthcare workers compared to the general population (68.6% vs. 56.1%), the mortality rate was significantly lower in them (1.7% vs. 3.8%). Fever, cough, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, headache, and myalgia were the most prevalent symptoms in both groups. Among the cases examined in this study, inpatient ones aged 30–40 years and the general population aged over 60 seemed to be more likely to be hospitalized for Covid-19. The hospitalization rate of healthcare workers during the pandemic follows the same pattern as the general population, but since the start of vaccination, this rate has decreased among healthcare workers compared to the general population of KB province.