{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]],"date-time":"2025-12-16T10:05:14Z","timestamp":1765879514147,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]],"date-time":"2025-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765843200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Rio de Janeiro Research Support Foundation","award":["210.786\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["210.786\/2021"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, high rates of infection with SARS-CoV-2 were reported in healthcare workers (HCWs), among whom asymptomatic individuals had high potential to spread the virus while assisting high-risk patients. This study conducted routine SARS-CoV-2 screening among the staff of a specialized cardiology hospital in Brazil during 2022 and 2023, while also evaluating variables associated with infection and the occurrence of symptoms. Methods: A prospective cohort study of 94 HCWs with biweekly RT-PCR screening was performed, employing RT-PCR from nasal swabs. Results: Participants aged 50.9 \u00b1 10.2 years and were predominantly female (85.1%) and non-white (56.4%). The follow-up period was 576.4 \u00b1 185.9 days, and most participants worked in the intensive care unit\/emergency department (34%). Although the HCWs with the highest COVID-19 rates before inclusion were technicians\/graduates (67.3%) and non-white individuals (57.7%), these groups presented lower infection rates at follow-up (p &lt; 0.001, CI 95% 2.924\u201327.93; and p = 0.02, CI 95% 0.129\u20130.859, respectively). The number of asymptomatic cases increased during the study (p = 0.001), and simultaneous infection upsurges occurred in different hospital departments. Interpretation: These data highlight the association between educational level and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCWs. The synchronicity of cases in different hospital departments offers insights about the nosocomial spread of SARS-CoV-2. The increase in the number of asymptomatic infections with repeated infections suggests that regular molecular screening may contribute to increasing the safety of both patients and HCWs in a pandemic context.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v17121622","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]],"date-time":"2025-12-16T09:57:24Z","timestamp":1765879044000},"page":"1622","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sociodemographic Associations and COVID-19 Symptoms Following One Year of Molecular Screening for SARS-CoV-2 Among Healthcare Workers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2340-9239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viviane Campos Barbosa","family":"de Sena","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michelle","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rejane Alencar","family":"Saldanha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Larissa","family":"Vicenza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6361-5980","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tais Hanae Kasai","family":"Brunswick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"},{"name":"Centro Nacional de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bernardo","family":"Tura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Helena Cramer Veiga","family":"Rey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7830-7868","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adriana Bastos","family":"Carvalho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"},{"name":"Centro de Pesquisa de Medicina de Precis\u00e3o, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-599, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0062-3043","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f4nio Carlos Campos","family":"de Carvalho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"},{"name":"Centro de Pesquisa de Medicina de Precis\u00e3o, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-599, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Djane Braz","family":"Duarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacy Department, School of Health Sciences, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, DF, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dayde Lane Mendon\u00e7a da","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacy Department, School of Health Sciences, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, DF, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6931-0950","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel Arthur Barata","family":"Kasal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research and Education, Ministry of Health, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro 22240-006, RJ, Brazil"},{"name":"Internal Medicine Departament, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, RJ, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"549","DOI":"10.1152\/physiolgenomics.00089.2020","article-title":"The COVID-19 pandemic: A global health crisis","volume":"52","author":"Pollard","year":"2020","journal-title":"Physiol. 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