Assessment of Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Time to Self-reported COVID-19 Infection Among a Large Multi-Center Prospective Cohort Population in the Southeastern United States

Objective We aimed to investigate sociodemographic factors associated with self-reported COVID-19 infection. Methods The study population is a multicenter prospective cohort of adult volunteers recruited from healthcare systems located in the mid-Atlantic and southern United States. Between April 2020 and October 2021 participants completed daily online questionnaires about symptoms, exposures, and risk behaviors related to COVID-19, including self-reports of positive SARS CoV-2 detection tests and COVID-19 vaccination. Analysis of time from study enrollment to self-reported COVID-19 infection used a time-varying mixed effects Cox-proportional hazards framework. Results Overall, 1,603 of 27,214 study participants (5.9%) reported a positive COVID-19 test during the study period. The adjusted hazard ratio demonstrated lower risk for women, those with a graduate level degree, and smokers. A higher risk was observed for healthcare workers, those aged 18-34, those in rural areas, those from households where a member attends school or interacts with the public, and those who visited a health provider in the last year. Conclusions Increased risk of self-reported COVID-19 was associated with specific demographic characteristics, which may help to inform targeted interventions for future pandemics. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Clinical Trial NCT04342884 ### Clinical Protocols ### Funding Statement The work was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant #75D30120C08405, website ) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (grant NC DHHS GTS #49927 website ). Author T. F. Wierzba was one of the grant recipients, along with two others not listed as authors. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The Wake Forest Baptist Health Institutional Review Board (IRB), which served as the central IRB for this study, approved the study protocol. Appropriate internet-based informed consent was obtained from study participants prior to any study procedures. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, [NCT04342884][1]. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data will be held in a public repository. [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT04342884&atom=%2Fmedrxiv%2Fearly%2F2023%2F10%2F21%2F2023.10.20.23297306.atom