Study of the effects of in-person attendance at academic conferences on the health of the attendees under COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To analyze the effects of in-person attendance at an academic conference held during the Covid-19 pandemic on the health of the attendees, as assessed based on symptoms such as fever and cough attributed to infection with the Covid-19 virus.

Methods: A questionnaire was used to survey the members of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) about their health during the period from August 7 to August 12, 2022, after the 74th Annual Congress of the JSOG, which was held August 5 to 7.

Results: Our survey yielded responses from 3054 members (1566 of whom had attended the congress in person and 1488 of whom had not attended in person); 102 (6.5%) of the in-person attendees and 93 (6.2%) of the people who did not attend in person reported problems with their health. No statistically significant difference was found between these two groups (p = 0.766). In a univariate analysis of factors affecting the presence of health problems, attendees with age ≥60 years had significantly fewer health problems than attendees who were in their 20s (odds ratio: 0.366 [0.167-0.802; p = 0.0120]). In a multivariate analysis, attendees who had received four vaccine shots had significantly fewer health problems than attendees who had received three shots (odds ratio: 0.397 [0.229-0.690, p = 0.0010]).

Conclusion: Congress attendees who took precautions at the congress to avoid being infected and who had a high vaccination rate did not develop significantly more health problems associated with in-person attendance at the congress.