Volume 10, Number 2—February 2004
THEME ISSUE
2004 SARS Edition
SARS Transmission
Risk Factors for SARS among Persons without Known Contact with SARS Patients, Beijing, China
Jiang Wu*, Fujie Xu†‡1, Weigong Zhou†‡1, Daniel R. Feikin†‡1, Chang-Ying Lin*, Xiong He*, Zonghan Zhu§, Wannian Liang§¶, Daniel P. Chin†, and Anne Schuchat†‡1
Table 2
Factors significantly associated with acquisition of clinically diagnosed SARS in multivariate analysisa
| Potential risk or protective factor for SARS | Matched OR (95% CI)b | p value |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare related | ||
| Visited any fever clinicc | 12.7 (3.1 to 52.0) | <0.001 |
| Having any chronic diseased | 4.8 (1.7 to 13.2) | 0.002 |
| Visited any farmer’s market | 0.4 (0.2 to 0.8) | 0.01 |
| Eating out | ||
| Never | Reference | |
| Once a week | 1.6 (0.7 to 3.8) | 0.3 |
| More than once a week | 3.1 (1.2 to 7.7) | 0.02 |
| Taking a taxi | ||
| Never | Reference | |
| Once a week | 0.2 (0.1 to 0.8) | 0.02 |
| More than once a week | 3.0 (0.9 to 10.3) | 0.07 |
| Had a pet | 0.4 (0.2 to 0.9) | 0.03 |
| Wore a mask when going out | ||
| Never | Reference | |
| Sometimes | 0.4 (0.2 to 0.9) | 0.03 |
| Always | 0.3 (0.1 to 0.6) | 0.002 |
aOR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.
bFever clinics were established for triage of patients who might have SARS to separate them from other persons being evaluated in emergency rooms or outpatient clinics.
