Seroprevalence of SARS-Cov-2 IgG antibodies in patients at a single center in Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Annals of Saudi medicine 2022-03, Vol.42 (2), p.69-74
• Main Authors: Mahallawi, Waleed H, Alsarani, Mohammad A, Aljohani, Rami H, Alluhaibi, Abdulrahman A, Alamri, Turki H, Ibrahim, Nadir A, Mahallawi, Khalid H, Khabourd, Omar F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibodies, Viral; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Original; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Seroepidemiologic Studies
• ISSN: 0256-4947; 0975-4466
• DOI: 10.5144/0256-4947.2022.69

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a massive impact on public health as well as the economy. Understanding the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among undiagnosed individuals is important for developing an informed pandemic response. Investigate the prevalence of undiagnosed COVID-19 disease. Cross-sectional. Tertiary care center in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. All participants were on follow-up visits to various clinics and had not been previously diagnosed with COVID-19. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to specifically assess the anti-spike IgG antibody seropositivity in serum samples. We associated the seropositivity rates of the participants with age, body mass index (BMI), nationality, blood groups, and sex with uni- and multivariate analyses. Seropositivity for IgG anti-spike antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. 527 subjects, with a median (interquartile percentiles) age of the 527 subjects was 34 (24-41). Of the 527 samples, about one-fourth (n=124, 23.5%) were positive for anti-spike IgG antibody against SARS CoV-2. Age was associated with anti-spike IgG antibody positivity ( 30 years were more likely to be seropositive (28-29%) than younger participants (15.4%). Additionally, seropositivity was associated with female gender ( 40 were associated with seropositivity. The percentage of seropositive individuals reflects the high level of undiagnosed COVID-19 patients among the population. Our results will help in a better evaluation of the public health measures applied during the COVID-19 pandemic and any future public health crises. Sample size was small, single-center study and no rural areas were included. None.