| Summary: | Introduction
Environmental risk factors, including community level pollution
burden and exposure to smoking and secondhand smoke, have not been evaluated
in relation to risk for infection with COVID-19 in high risk, urban Latinx families.
Methods
We evaluated risk factors for COVID-19 infection in three, preexisting,
longitudinal, Latinx family cohorts in the San Francisco Bay Area from May
through September 2020 (N=383 households, 1875 people). All households
were previously recruited before the pandemic. For the COVID-19 sub-study,
participants responded to a telephone interview where we assessed food
consumption patterns, housing and employment status, and history of COVID-19
infection. Secondhand smoke exposure was based on previously collected selfreported
data, and environmental pollution exposure was determined from census
tract residence. Non-parametric tests and multiple logistic regression were used
to assess independent predictors of COVID-19 infection.
Results
Larger household size increased risk for infection (OR=1.58; 95% CI:
1.12–2.23, p<0.01) as did increasing number of children in household (OR=3.79;
95% CI: 1.51–9.56). Any exposure to secondhand smoke was also associated with
increased risk for COVID infection (OR 4.69; 95% CI: 1.01–21.85) and having a
greater number of family members eating at home was protective against infection
(OR=0.10; 95% CI: 0.02–0.52, p<0.01).
Conclusions
Crowding, as indicated by larger household size, increases risk for
COVID-19 infection in Latinx families, as does exposure to secondhand smoke.
Public policy and health interventions need to ensure that multiunit residential
complexes do not allow exposure to secondhand smoke between units, that
individuals eat in the home environment, and that large households can safely
separate individuals exposed to COVID-19.
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