Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33212126›Full record

SynthesisThe Journal of hospital infection2021

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and associated factors in healthcare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

P Galanis, I Vraka, D Fragkou, A Bilali, D Kaitelidou

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Journal of hospital infection, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 204 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
204citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
7.7field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

204 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 341 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
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  8. Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in India, March 2020 to August 2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022
    Pooled it
  9. COVID-19 pandemic effects on health worker's mental health: Systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2022
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  11. The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among health care workers before the era of vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2021
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  19. SARS-CoV-2 infection risk by non-healthcare occupations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025
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144 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

P GalanisFaculty of Nursing, Centre for Health Services Management and Evaluation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: pegalan@nurs.uoa.gr.
I VrakaDepartment of Radiology, P & A Kyriakou Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
D FragkouFaculty of Nursing, Centre for Health Services Management and Evaluation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
A BilaliHospital Waste Management Unit, P & A Kyriakou Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
D KaitelidouFaculty of Nursing, Centre for Health Services Management and Evaluation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens · GRPanagiotis & Aglaia Kyriakou Children's Hospital · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealthcare workers (HCWs) represent a high-risk population for infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

aimTo determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCWs, and identify the factors associated with this seroprevalence.

methodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines were applied for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Databases including PubMed/MEDLINE and preprint services (medRχiv and bioRχiv) were searched from inception to 24

findingsForty-nine studies including 127,480 HCWs met the inclusion criteria. The estimated overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCWs was 8.7% (95% confidence interval 6.7-10.9%). Seroprevalence was higher in studies conducted in North America (12.7%) compared with those conducted in Europe (8.5%), Africa (8.2) and Asia (4%). Meta-regression showed that increased sensitivity of antibody tests was associated with increased seroprevalence. The following factors were associated with seropositivity: male gender; Black, Asian and Hispanic HCWs; work in a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) unit; patient-related work; front-line HCWs; healthcare assistants; shortage of personal protective equipment; self-reported belief of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection; previous positive polymerase chain reaction test; and household contact with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.

conclusionThe seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCWs is high. Excellent adherence to infection prevention and control measures; sufficient and adequate personal protective equipment; and early recognition, identification and isolation of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 are imperative to decrease the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Indexed as

AdultAfricaAntibodies, ViralAsiaCOVID-19COVID-19 Serological TestingEuropeFemaleGuideline AdherenceHealth PersonnelHumansInfectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-ProfessionalMaleMiddle AgedNorth AmericaPersonal Protective EquipmentAntibodies, ViralAntibodiesCOVID-19Healthcare workersSARS-CoV-2Seroprevalence

Identifiers

PMID33212126
PMCPMC7668234
OpenAlexW3103811749

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.