Predictors of self-reported symptoms and testing for COVID-19 in Canada using a nationally representative survey

Daphne C Wu; Prabhat Jha; Teresa Lam; Patrick Brown; Hellen Gelband; Nico Nagelkerke; H Chaim Birnboim; Angus Reid; Action to Beat Coronavirus in Canada/Action pour Battre le Coronavirus (Ab-C) Study Group

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240778

Predictors of self-reported symptoms and testing for COVID-19 in Canada using a nationally representative survey

PLoS One. 2020 Oct 21;15(10):e0240778. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240778. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Daphne C Wu¹, Prabhat Jha¹, Teresa Lam², Patrick Brown^{1

3}, Hellen Gelband¹, Nico Nagelkerke¹, H Chaim Birnboim^{1

4}, Angus Reid²; Action to Beat Coronavirus in Canada/Action pour Battre le Coronavirus (Ab-C) Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Angus Reid Institute, Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada.
³ Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ deltaDNA Biosciences, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Random population-based surveys to estimate prevalence of SARS-CoV2 infection causing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are useful to understand distributions and predictors of the infection. In April 2020, the first-ever nationally representative survey in Canada polled 4,240 adults age 18 years and older about self-reported COVID experience in March, early in the epidemic. We examined the levels and predictors of COVID symptoms, defined as fever plus difficulty breathing/shortness of breath, dry cough so severe that it disrupts sleep, and/or loss of sense of smell; and testing for SARS-CoV-2 by respondents and/or household members. About 8% of Canadians reported that they and/or one or more household members experienced COVID symptoms. Symptoms were more common in younger than in older adults, and among visible minorities. Overall, only 3% of respondents and/or household members reported testing for SARS-CoV-2. Being tested was associated with having COVID symptoms, Indigenous identity, and living in Quebec. Periodic nationally representative surveys of symptoms, as well as SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, are required in many countries to understand the pandemic and prepare for the future.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Betacoronavirus / genetics*
COVID-19
COVID-19 Testing
Clinical Laboratory Techniques*
Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / virology
Family Characteristics
Female
Health Surveys / methods*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Viral / virology
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence
Quebec / epidemiology
SARS-CoV-2
Self Report*
Young Adult

Grants and funding

PJ received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (https://www.gatesfoundation.org; grant number: OPP1159622) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/193.html; grant number: FDN 154277), and AR is funded by the Angus Reid Institute (http://angusreid.org/). The Angus Reid Institute collected the data used in this study and reviewed the manuscript. The funders (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Canadian Institutes of Health Research) provided support in the form of salaries for authors (DCW, HG), but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to public, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.