Why not to pick your nose: Association between nose picking and SARS-CoV-2 incidence, a cohort study in hospital health care workers.
<h4>Background</h4>Hospital health care workers (HCW) are at increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. We investigated whether certain behavioral and physical features, e.g. nose picking and wearing glasses, are associated with infection risk.<h4>Aim</h4>To assess the associa...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0288352&type=printable |
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| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4>Hospital health care workers (HCW) are at increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. We investigated whether certain behavioral and physical features, e.g. nose picking and wearing glasses, are associated with infection risk.<h4>Aim</h4>To assess the association between nose picking and related behavioral or physical features (nail biting, wearing glasses, and having a beard) and the incidence of SARS-CoV-2-infection.<h4>Methods</h4>In a cohort study among 404 HCW in two university medical centers in the Netherlands, SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies were prospectively measured during the first phase of the pandemic. For this study HCW received an additional retrospective survey regarding behavioral (e.g. nose picking) and physical features.<h4>Results</h4>In total 219 HCW completed the survey (response rate 52%), and 34/219 (15.5%) became SARS-CoV-2 seropositive during follow-up from March 2020 till October 2020. The majority of HCW (185/219, 84.5%) reported picking their nose at least incidentally, with frequency varying between monthly, weekly and daily. SARS-CoV-2 incidence was higher in nose picking HCW compared to participants who refrained from nose picking (32/185: 17.3% vs. 2/34: 5.9%, OR 3.80, 95% CI 1.05 to 24.52), adjusted for exposure to COVID-19. No association was observed between nail biting, wearing glasses, or having a beard, and the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Nose picking among HCW is associated with an increased risk of contracting a SARS-CoV-2 infection. We therefore recommend health care facilities to create more awareness, e.g. by educational sessions or implementing recommendations against nose picking in infection prevention guidelines. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |