COVID-19 prevalence, symptoms, and sociodemographic disparities in infection among insured pregnant women in Northern California.
PLoS One
; 16(9): e0256891, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1394547
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Research on COVID-19 during pregnancy has mainly focused on women hospitalized for COVID-19 or other reasons during their pregnancy. Little is known about COVID-19 in the general population of pregnant women.OBJECTIVE:
To describe the prevalence of COVID-19, symptoms, consequent healthcare use, and possible sources of COVID-19 exposure among a population-based sample of pregnant women residing in Northern California.METHODS:
We analyzed data from 19,458 members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California who were pregnant between January 2020 and April 2021 and responded to an online survey about COVID-19 testing, diagnosis, symptoms, and their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical diagnosis of COVID-19 during pregnancy was defined separately by self-report and by documentation in electronic health records (EHR). We examined relationships of COVID-19 with sociodemographic factors, underlying comorbidities, and survey measures of COVID-19-like symptoms, consequent healthcare utilization, and possible COVID-19 exposures.RESULTS:
Among 19,458 respondents, the crude prevalence of COVID-19 was 2.5% (n = 494) according to self-report and 1.4% (n = 276) according to EHR. After adjustment, the prevalence of self-reported COVID-19 was higher among women aged <25 years compared with women aged ≥35 years (prevalence ratio [PR], 1.75, 95% CI 1.23, 2.49) and among Hispanic women compared with White women (PR, 1.91, 95% CI 1.53, 2.37). Prevalence of self-reported COVID-19 was higher among women affected by personal or partner job loss during the pandemic (PR, 1.23, 95% CI 1.02, 1.47) and among women living in areas of high vs. low neighborhood deprivation (PR, 1.74, 95% CI 1.33, 2.27). We did not observe differences in self-reported COVID-19 between women with and without underlying comorbidities. Results were similar for EHR-documented COVID-19. Loss of smell or taste was a unique and common symptom reported among women with COVID-19 (42.3% in self-reported; 54.0% in EHR-documented). Among women with symptomatic COVID-19, approximately 2% were hospitalized, 71% had a telehealth visit, and 75% quarantined at home. Over a third of women with COVID-19 reported no known exposure to someone with COVID-19.CONCLUSIONS:
Observed COVID-19 prevalence differences by sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors underscore social and health inequities among reproductive-aged women. Women with COVID-19 reported unique symptoms and low frequency of hospitalization. Many were not aware of an exposure to someone with COVID-19.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
Science
/
Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Journal.pone.0256891
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