Signs, symptoms and comorbidities of COVID-19 infection in informal workers in Medellin, Colombia, 2021.

INTRODUCTION

Despite numerous studies on COVID-19, there is still limited evidence regarding its behavior in subsistence workers.

OBJECTIVES

To describe how sociodemographic conditions, signs, symptoms, and comorbidities are related to COVID-19 infection among informal workers in Medellin, Colombia, in 2021.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study used primary data obtained from a broader project. A total of 656 workers were recruited through snowball sampling. The study assessed sociodemographic variables, infection characteristics, signs, symptoms, and comorbidities. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of COVID-19 diagnosis was significantly higher (p < 0.05) among individuals who had contact with a probable or confirmed case, underwent testing due to contact with a confirmed case, had a coworker or family member with COVID-19, had contact with an infected family member and who did not receive medical care. The presence of fever, dry cough, dyspnea, myalgia, nausea and/or vomiting, abdominal pain, ageusia/dysgeusia, anosmia, consultation for infection symptoms, COVID-19 testing, and previous diagnosis of diabetes were also associated with COVID-19. Contact with an infected family member and who did not receive medical care, as well as consultation for infection symptoms also explained a higher rate of COVID-19 diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

During the pandemic, confinement and cohabitation conditions may have facilitated the spread of infection, increasing the socio-labor and environmental vulnerability of the working population under study.