Table 1.
Baseline characteristic of the Austria (AT) and Italy (IT) survey study cohorts
| Variablea | AT | IT | Significanceb | Effect sizeb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex |
Female: 67% (n = 320) Male: 33% (n = 159) |
Female: 70% (n = 300) Male: 30% (n = 127) |
ns (p = 0.46) | V = 0.037 |
| Education |
Non-tertiary: 63% (n = 302) Tertiary: 37% (n = 176) |
Non-tertiary: 59% (n = 250) Tertiary: 41% (n = 177) |
ns (p = 0.35) | V = 0.047 |
| Age, years |
43 [IQR: 32–53] Range 18–80 |
45 [IQR: 34–54] Range 18–95 |
ns (p = 0.31) | r = 0.048 |
| BMI before COVID-19 |
Normal: 54% (n = 257) Overweight: 28% (n = 135) Obesity: 18% (n = 84) |
Normal: 66% (n = 278) Overweight: 25% (n = 104) Obesity: 8.8% (n = 37) |
p = 0.0011 | V = 0.15 |
| Employment status |
Employed: 83% (n = 398) Unemployed: 8.4% (n = 40) Leave: 1.7% (n = 8) Retired: 6.9% (n = 33) |
Employed: 81% (n = 348) Unemployed: 9.4% (n = 40) Leave: 1.9% (n = 8) Retired: 7.3% (n = 31) |
ns (p = 1) | V = 0.022 |
| Autoimmunity | 6.7% (n = 32) | 6.3% (n = 27) | ns (p = 1) | V = 0.0072 |
| Arterial hypertension | 11% (n = 51) | 8.4% (n = 36) | ns (p = 0.46) | V = 0.038 |
| Pre-CoV depression/anxiety | 5.4% (n = 26) | 5.2% (n = 22) | ns (p = 1) | V = 0.0061 |
| Diabetes | 1.5% (n = 7) | 0.23% (n = 1) | ns (p = 0.26) | V = 0.065 |
| Freq. resp. infections | 6.7% (n = 32) | 3.3% (n = 14) | ns (p = 0.1) | V = 0.077 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 2.1% (n = 10) | 3% (n = 13) | ns (p = 0.62) | V = 0.03 |
| Hay fever/allergy | 18% (n = 88) | 12% (n = 51) | p = 0.045 | V = 0.089 |
| Malignancy | 2.1% (n = 10) | 4% (n = 17) | ns (p = 0.31) | V = 0.056 |
| Gastrointestinal disease | 1.7% (n = 8) | 0.7% (n = 3) | ns (p = 0.46) | V = 0.044 |
| Pulmonary disease | 3.8% (n = 18) | 2.8% (n = 12) | ns (p = 0.67) | V = 0.026 |
| Freq. bact. infections | 4.8% (n = 23) | 1.2% (n = 5) | p = 0.016 | V = 0.1 |
| Pre-CoV sleep disorders | 3.5% (n = 17) | 4.7% (n = 20) | ns (p = 0.62) | V = 0.029 |
| Daily medication |
Absent: 62% (n = 295) 1–4 drugs: 37% (n = 175) 5 drugs and more: 1.9% (n = 9) |
Absent: 74% (n = 317) 1–4 drugs: 25% (n = 106) 5 drugs and more: 0.94% (n = 4) |
p = 0.0024 | V = 0.14 |
| Observation time |
180 [IQR: 130–220] Range 90–400 |
140 [IQR: 120–270] Range 90–390 |
p = 0.0036 | r = 0.12 |
| Comorbidity | 49% (n = 237) | 43% (n = 185) | ns (p = 0.22) | V = 0.062 |
Numeric variables are presented as medians with interquartile ranges (IQR) and ranges. Categorical variables are presented as percentages and counts within the complete observation set
aBMI: body mass index, normal: BMI < 25 kg/m2, overweight: BMI 25–30 kg/m2, obesity: BMI > 30 kg/m2; Pre-CoV depression/anxiety: depression or anxiety before COVID-19; Freq. resp. infections: frequent (> 2 per year) respiratory infections;;Freq. bact. Infections: frequent (> two per year) bacterial infections with antibiotic therapy; Pre-CoV sleep disorders: sleep disorders before COVID-19
bCategorical variables: χ2 test with Cramer V effect size statistic. Numeric variables: Mann–Whitney U test with wilcoxon r effect size statistic. P values corrected form multiple testing with Benjamini–Hochberg method