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According to a study from Great Britain, the number of serious coronary diseases in the health professions is much higher than in others. The risk of suffering a severe course is seven times higher for doctors, nurses and paramedics than for people from so-called non-essential professional groups, epidemiologists at the University of Glasgow determined. The researchers did not compare the number of corona infections, but only those of Covid 19 patients in British clinics, including those who died.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in September that 14 percent of all reported corona infections worldwide occurred in the health professions. In some countries, the rate is as high as 35 percent, although its share of the population as a whole is less than three percent in most countries.
Medical assistants apparently particularly at risk
The study included about 120,000 people between the ages of 49 and 64. More than 35,000 (29 percent) worked in a so-called “essential” profession, that is, they worked in health care (9 percent), social and educational services (11 percent), as well as the health care sectors. police, transportation and food preparation (nine percent).
As scientists report in the journal “Occupational & Environmental Medicine,” they compared how high the risk of a serious Covid 19 infection was for different occupational groups, that is, a course with hospitalization or even death. A total of 271 of these cases occurred. The study found that healthcare professionals – doctors, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurses and paramedics – combined had a seven times higher risk of serious illness than non-essential professions. This risk was nine times higher for medical support personnel.
Social and education sector employees were 84 percent more likely to have a severe course of Covid-19, while “other” employees in essential professions had a 60 percent higher risk. A more precise breakdown of occupational groups also showed that the risk for social sector employees was 2.5 times that of non-essential occupational groups.
The course of the pandemic depends on essential professions
In their study, the researchers also found that the UK health professions employ higher than average numbers of women, as well as a disproportionately large number of blacks and people from Asia. Looking at ethnicity, epidemiologists found that black people or people from Asia in non-essential jobs had a three times higher risk of severe Covid 19 disease than white people in the same occupational groups. In the area of essential professions, the risk for both groups was eight times higher.
The authors emphasize that this is an observational study that cannot make any statements about the causes of the recorded relationships. However, her work underscores the importance of proper health and safety measures and the provision of personal protective equipment for people working in essential professions, especially in the health and social sectors. He writes: “The health and well-being of essential workers is critical to limiting the spread and managing the burden of global pandemics.”
In Germany, at least the supply of protective clothing for medical personnel now appears to be better than in the spring. This was the result of surveys carried out by members of some regional associations of the Marburg Federation. However, they also found that regular breaks for two-thirds of respondents or more were not possible at all or not sufficient, based on surveys from Bavaria, Saxony and Saarland. In addition, there is a growing shortage of staff. Stress is detrimental to the health of medical personnel, and infections increase the burden.
It cannot be precisely quantified how many members of the health professions in Germany are ill, especially those with severe symptoms. There is no central registry for this in this country. In the case of registered crown cases, information about the profession is often missing. More and more reports of sick employees, such as the recent one from Augsburg University Hospital, indicate a growing number.
