Students in Dormitories Were Not Major Drivers of the Pandemic during Winter Term 2020/2021: A Cohort Study with RT-PCR and Antibody Surveillance in a German University City
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Detection of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies
2.3. SARS-CoV-2 Detection by RT-PCR
2.4. Data Management and Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Study Population
3.2. Cross-Sectional Prevalence of Infection with SARS-CoV-2 at Baseline
3.3. SARS-CoV-2 Incidence Rates in Bochum, Germany during the Study Period
3.4. Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infections within the Study Period
3.5. RT-PCR Results and Gargle Sample as a Surveillance Tool
3.6. Impact of the Housing Situation on Infection Risk and Risk Factor Analysis
4. Discussion
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Total | All Participants n = 810 | Attended Final Visit n = 590 |
---|---|---|
Personal information | ||
Age [years] | 23.7 (±3.4) [810] | 23.5 (±3.2) [590] |
Females | 377 (46.5%) [810] | 283 (48.0%) [590] |
BMI [kg/m2] | 23.3 (±3.8) [771] | 23.2 (±3.68) [574] |
Living conditions | ||
Single apartment | 299 (39.4%) [779] | 198 (34.6%) [572] |
Shared apartment | 480 (61.6%) [779] | 374 (65.3%) [572] |
No. of roommates, | 3.2 (±2.2) [478] | 3.0 (±1.9) [372] |
mean (SD) (n = 478) | min. 0, max. 14 | min. 0, max. 14 |
Health information | ||
Nicotine consumption | 113 (14.7%) [767] | 73 (12.9%) [565] |
Alcohol consumption | 369 (48.1%) [767] | 297 (52.7%) [564] |
Chronic disease | 112 (14.3%) [782] | 82 (14.3%) [573] |
Bronchial asthma | 36 | 30 |
Metabolic disease | 23 | 16 |
Psychiatric | 17 | 12 |
Regular medication | 213 (27.4%) [778] | 165 (28.8%) [574] |
Contraceptives | 126 | 103 |
Thyroid drugs | 31 | 24 |
Antidepressants | 20 | 13 |
Analgesics | 17 | 12 |
Regular sports activities | 500 (64.5%) [775] | 378 (66.3%) [570] |
Country of birth | ||
Germany | 572 (73.1%) [783] | 456 (79.0%) [577] |
Iran | 37 (4.7%) [783] | 17 (3.0%) [577] |
Russia | 30 (3.8%) [783] | 21 (3.6%) [577] |
Italy | 12 (1.5%) [783] | 8 (1.4%) [577] |
Other | 132 (16.9%) [783] | 75 (13.0%) [577] |
Have You Ever Been Tested Positive for SARS-CoV-2 Infection? | Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Status | |
---|---|---|
Positive | Negative | |
Total number | 23 | 785 |
Yes | 7 (30.4%) | 2 † (0.25%) |
No | 15 (65.2%) | 760 (96.7%) |
No answer | 1 (4.3%) | 23 (30.5%) |
Ratio reported to unreported case ‡ | 1:2 |
No. of Samples | Positive Results | Negative Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Baseline/visit 1 (November 2020) | |||
Participants | 810 | ||
Collected gargle samples | 772 (95.3%) | ||
Valid † RT-PCR results | 727 (89.8%) | 6 (0.8%) | 721 (99.2%) |
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM | 808 (99.8%) | 23 (2.9%) | 785 (97.2%) |
Visit 2 (December 2020) | |||
Participants | 628 | ||
Collected gargle samples | 605 (96.3%) | ||
Valid † RT-PCR results | 513 (81.7%) | 7 (1.4%) | 506 (98.6%) |
Visit 3 (January 2021) | |||
Participants | 581 | ||
Collected gargle samples | 567 (97.6%) | ||
Valid † RT-PCR results | 497 (85.5%) | 3 (0.6%) | 494 (99.4%) |
Visit 4 (February 2021) | |||
Participants | 590 | ||
Collected gargle samples | 569 (96.4%) | ||
Valid † RT-PCR results | 546 (92.5%) | 3 (0.6%) | 543 (99.5%) |
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM | 588 (99.7%) | 29 (4.9%) | 559 (95.1%) |
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Torres Reyes, C.R.; Steinmann, E.; Timmesfeld, N.; Trampisch, H.-J.; Stein, J.; Schütte, C.; Skrygan, M.; Meyer, T.; Sakinc-Güler, T.; Schlottmann, R.; et al. Students in Dormitories Were Not Major Drivers of the Pandemic during Winter Term 2020/2021: A Cohort Study with RT-PCR and Antibody Surveillance in a German University City. COVID 2021, 1, 345-356. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid1010029
Torres Reyes CR, Steinmann E, Timmesfeld N, Trampisch H-J, Stein J, Schütte C, Skrygan M, Meyer T, Sakinc-Güler T, Schlottmann R, et al. Students in Dormitories Were Not Major Drivers of the Pandemic during Winter Term 2020/2021: A Cohort Study with RT-PCR and Antibody Surveillance in a German University City. COVID. 2021; 1(1):345-356. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid1010029
Chicago/Turabian StyleTorres Reyes, Christian Rafael, Eike Steinmann, Nina Timmesfeld, Hans-Joachim Trampisch, Julien Stein, Christian Schütte, Marina Skrygan, Thomas Meyer, Türkan Sakinc-Güler, Renate Schlottmann, and et al. 2021. "Students in Dormitories Were Not Major Drivers of the Pandemic during Winter Term 2020/2021: A Cohort Study with RT-PCR and Antibody Surveillance in a German University City" COVID 1, no. 1: 345-356. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid1010029