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
Table 1
Selected potential risk and protective factors among cases and matched controls during the 2 weeks before the case-patient’s onset of SARS-related symptoms, Beijing, 2003a
| Potential risk or protective factor for SARS | % of cases with factor N=94 | % of controls with factor N = 281 | Matched OR (95% CI) b | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare related |
||||
| Visited any hospital |
30 |
10 |
3.6 (2.0 to 6.5) |
<0.001 |
| Visited any fever clinicc |
15 |
1 |
13.4 (3.8 to 46.7) |
<0.001 |
| Having any chronic diseased |
19 |
7 |
4.1 (1.8 to 9.3) |
<0.001 |
| Community related |
||||
| Visited any school or college |
14 |
16 |
0.8 (0.4 to 1.6) |
0.52 |
| Visited any quarantine site |
2 |
2 |
1.2 (0.2 to 6.2) |
0.83 |
| Attended any social gatheringe |
7 |
10 |
0.8 (0.3 to 1.8) |
0.52 |
| Visited any movie theater, concert hall, or indoor gym |
2 |
4 |
0.6 (0.1 to 2.8) |
0.48 |
| Visited any farmer’s market |
23 |
37 |
0.5 (0.3 to 0.9) |
0.01 |
| Eating out |
||||
| Never |
62 |
70 |
Reference |
|
| Once a week |
14 |
15 |
1.2 (0.6 to 2.4) |
0.67 |
| More than once a week |
24 |
15 |
2.3 (1.2 to 4.5) |
0.01 |
| Riding a bus |
||||
| Never |
62 |
73 |
Reference |
|
| Once a week |
13 |
7 |
2.3 (1.0 to 5.2) |
0.04 |
| More than once a week |
25 |
19 |
1.7 (0.9 to 3.1) |
0.08 |
| Taking a taxi |
||||
| Never |
80 |
79 |
Reference |
|
| Once a week |
7 |
16 |
0.4 (0.2 to 1.0) |
0.05 |
| More than once a week |
13 |
4 |
3.2 (1.3 to 8.0) |
0.01 |
| Taking the subway |
||||
| Never |
88 |
91 |
Reference |
|
| Once a week |
1 |
4 |
0.3 (0.0 to 2.3) |
0.25 |
| More than once a week |
11 |
5 |
2.5 (1.0 to 6.6) |
0.06 |
| Home related |
||||
| Did not go to work/attend school |
39 |
40 |
1.0 (0.6 to 1.6) |
0.90 |
| Had a pet |
12f |
20 |
0.5 (0.2 to 1.1) |
0.08 |
| Home infested by rats or mice |
10 |
6 |
1.6 (0.7 to 3.9) |
0.28 |
| Home infested by cockroaches |
16 |
15 |
1.1 (0.6 to 2.0) |
0.87 |
| Behavior related |
||||
| Wore a mask when going out |
||||
| Never |
46 |
27 |
Reference |
|
| Sometimes |
27 |
30 |
0.5 (0.2 to 0.9) |
0.02 |
| Always |
27 |
43 |
0.3 (0.2 to 0.6) |
<0.001 |
| Always washed hands before eating |
83 |
89 |
0.6 (0.3 to 1.1) |
0.11 |
| Always washed hands after using restrooms |
88 |
93 |
0.5 (0.2 to 1.2) |
0.10 |
| Always washed hands after returning home | 78 | 90 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.7) | 0.003 |
aOR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.
bDetermined by use of conditional logistic regression. Exposures refer to the 2 weeks before symptom onset for cases and the same 2-week period for matched controls.
cFever 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.
dIncludes diabetes, cancer, immunosuppressive treatment, and other.
eA gathering of >10 persons for a party or other social event.
fPets reported by case-patients included dogs (3 cases), cats (3 cases), fish (1 case), and pigeons (1 case).