Table 1. Characteristics of cases with severe COVID-19 disease and SARS-CoV-2 infection and matched controls from the general population of Sweden in the age range of 18–64 years. [COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.].
| Severe COVID-19 disease N=5985 |
Controls N=24 315 |
SARS-CoV-2 infection N=561 582 |
Controls N=2 211 372 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | % (N) | ||||
| Men | 57.3 (3432) | 57.7 (14 028) | 48.8 (274 317) | 49.1 (1 086 046) | |||
| Born in Sweden | 61.5 (3678) | 80.7 (19 615) | 78.3 (439 713) | 80.1 (1 771 830) | |||
| Post-high school | 39.5 (2367) | 43.8 (10 639) | 43.8 (246 223) | 45.3 (1 002 192) | |||
| COPD a | 0.8 (48) | 0.2 (40) | 0.1 (510) | 0.1 (2367) | |||
| Diabetes mellitusa | 6.0 (362) | 2.1 (508) | 1.5 (8 278) | 1.5 (33 066) | |||
| Ischemic heart diseasea | 2.7 (164) | 1.0 (237) | 0.5 (8 278) | 0.5 (11 026) | |||
| Dispensed corticosteroids | 10.8 (645) | 3.9 (943) | 3.5 (19 491) | 3.3 (72 139) | |||
| Workers (>30) in close proximity to each other |
28.4 (1 702) | 22.1 (5 375) | 29.3 (164 741) | 24.6 (543 416) | |||
| Regular contacts with infected patients | 17.1 (1024) | 12.3 (2 995) | 16.4 (91 826) | 13.8 (305,090) | |||
| Frequently sharing materials / surfaces with the general public |
43.3 (2592) | 33.2 (8 073) | 42.4 (238 047) | 37.3 (825 858) | |||
| Working mostly inside | 73.8 (4416) | 66.1 (16 062) | 72.0 (404 224) | 68.1 (1 505 305) | |||
| Social distancing can never be maintained | 26.4 (1579) | 19.4 (4705) | 25.5 (143 464) | 22.1 (487 850) | |||
| Work very close to other persons | 27.7 (1658) | 19.5 (4739) | 26.2 (146 995) | 22.0 (485 560) | |||
| Daily exposure to diseases or infections | 7.4 (443) | 5.0 (1202) | 6.6 (37 113) | 5.3 (116 461) |
a Hospital-based diagnoses.