Epidemiological investigation on a cluster epidemic of COVID-19 in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of a family and workplace clustering of COVID-19, identify the source of infection and the transmission chain, and provide evidence for prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Field epidemiological method was used to conduct the investigation of confirmed cases and close contacts in this cluster. Data were analyzed with descriptive method. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) was used to detect the novel coronavirus nucleic acid in the collected respiratory tract samples.

No association between circulating levels of testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin and risk of COVID-19 mortality in UK biobank (preprint)

Background: Sex-disaggregated data suggest that men with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are more likely to die than women. Whether circulating testosterone or sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) contributes to such sex differences remains unknown. Objective: To evaluate the associations of circulating total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), and SHBG with COVID-19 mortality. Design: Prospective analysis. Setting: UK Biobank. Participants: We included 1306 COVID-19 patients (678 men and 628 women) who had serum TT and SHBG measurements and were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline (2006-2010). Main outcome measures: The death cases of COVID-19 were identified from National Health Service death records updated at 31 July 2020. Unconditional logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for mortality. Results: We documented 315 deaths of COVID-19 (194 men and 121 women). After adjusting for potential confounders, we did not find any statistically significant associations for TT (OR per 1-SD increase = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.85-1.25), FT (OR per 1-SD increase = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.77-1.17), or SHBG (OR per 1-SD increase = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.87-1.37) with COVID-19 mortality in men. Similar null results were observed in women (TT: OR per 1-SD increase = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.85-1.42; FT: OR per 1-SD increase = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.82-1.46; SHBG: OR per 1-SD increase = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.89-1.53). Conclusions: Our findings do not support a significant role of circulating testosterone or SHBG in COVID-19 prognosis.

Pre-diagnostic circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 and risk of COVID-19 mortality: results from UK Biobank (preprint)

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deteriorates suddenly primarily due to excessive inflammatory injury, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is implicated in endocrine control of the immune system. However, the effect of IGF-1 levels on COVID-19 prognosis remains unknown. ObjectiveTo investigate the association between circulating IGF-1 concentrations and mortality risk among COVID-19 patients. DesignProspective analysis. SettingUK Biobank. Participants1425 COVID-19 patients who had pre-diagnostic serum IGF-1 measurements at baseline (2006-2010). Main outcome measuresCOVID-19 mortality (available death data updated to 22 May 2020). Unconditional logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of mortality across the IGF-1 quartiles. ResultsAmong 1425 COVID-19 patients, 365 deaths occurred due to COVID-19. Compared to the lowest quartile of IGF-1 concentrations, the highest quartile was associated with a 37% lower risk of mortality (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.43-0.93, P-trend=0.03). The association was stronger in women and nonsmokers (both P-interaction=0.01). ConclusionsHigher IGF-1 concentrations are associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 mortality. Further studies are required to determine whether and how targeting IGF-1 pathway might improve COVID-19 prognosis.