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Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies and its Risk Factors in the North-West of Iran: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
Background:
The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and to examine the risk factors for seropositivity among the people of Ardabil, in the northwestern part of Iran.
Methods:
A community-based survey was carried out involving 1013 participants (690 from urban and 323 from rural areas), who were selected based on the cluster sampling method. Iran’s FDA-approved Pishtaz Teb SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kits were used to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in serum samples. Weighted seroprevalence, the number of infections, infection to case ratio (ICR), and infection fatality ratio (IFR) were estimated after adjusting for survey design and serial test performance. The factors associated with IgG/IgM positive were determined using logistic regression.
Results:
Between May 20 and June 7, out of 1013 survived people, 123 (12.11%) were IgG positive, 49 (4.8%) were IgM positive and 122 (12.04%) were having both IgG and IgM antibodies. The highest frequency of positive test for IgG and IgM antibodies was found in people with diabetes, followed by people with obesity and heart disease, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed old age (2.04, 95% CI: 1.02 to 11.74), male sex (1.52, 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.13), urbanization (1.40, 95% CI: 1.02 to 3.22), higher family number (9.44, 95% CI: 1.69 to 52.13), obesity (2.14, 95% CI: 1.11 to 5.86), NCDs (1.22, 95% CI: 1.01 to 2.16), having symptoms (3.02, 95% CI: 1.64 to 8.61), traveling (2.70, 95% CI: 1.76 to 10.8), history of contact with infected patients (2.38, 95% CI: 1.08 to 7.03), as factors associated with IgG/IgM positive test.
Conclusion:
Around the mid of May 2020, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was low among Ardabil's adult population. Several factors have been found to be associated with SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, which should be considered by policymakers to set policies against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
