<p>Beyond Predicting the Number of Infections: Predicting Who is Likely to Be COVID Negative or Positive</p>

Abstract

Background: This study aims to identify individuals' likelihood of being COVID negative or positive, enabling more targeted infectious disease prevention and control when there is a shortage of COVID-19 testing kits. Methods: We conducted a primary survey of 521 adults on April 1-10, 2020 in Iran, where 3% reported being COVID-19 positive and 15% were unsure whether they were infected. This relatively high positive rate enabled us to conduct the analysis at the 5% significance level. Results: Adults who exercised more were more likely to be COVID-19 negative. Each additional hour of exercise per day predicted a 78% increase in the likelihood of being COVID-19 negative. Adults with chronic health issues were 48% more likely to be COVID-19 negative. Those working from home were the most likely to be COVID-19 negative, and those who had stopped working due to the pandemic were the most likely to be COVID-19 positive. Adults employed in larger organizations were less likely to be COVID-19 positive. Conclusion: This study enables more targeted infectious disease prevention and control by identifying the risk factors of COVID-19 infections from a set of readily accessible information. We hope this research opens a new research avenue to predict the individual likelihood of COVID-19 infection by risk factors.

A Path Model for Subjective Well-Being during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Study among Polish and Ukrainian University Students

“…It was also evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic that high PA levels improved sleep quality and mitigated the mental health burden related to a lockdown, such as increased stress, negative emotions, anxiety, depression, or worsening sense of well-being [ 47 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 59 , 61 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 101 , 102 ]. Physical activity can improve the function of immune and respiratory systems and may predict coronavirus infection [ 104 , 107 ].…”

Satisfaction with life among university students from nine countries: Cross-national study during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic

“…Eek et al [ 52 ] showed that people who reported decreased physical activity (PA) levels during the COVID-19 pandemic reported low levels of life satisfaction and aerobic capacity. Moreover, adults who exercise more have a lower risk of being infected with coronavirus [ 53 ]. In the Spanish population, Gonzalez-Bernal et al [ 54 ] recently associated high life satisfaction with fewer days of home confinement, the perception of having received enough information about COVID-19 and its prevention, having private access to the outside, being employed, being male, and not experiencing isolation.…”

Predicting health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

“…These models have been extended and include additional constructs, such as habits (automatic enactments of a behavior developed through its repeated performance) and perceived risk of infection (personal perceived probability of getting infected). Many studies have shown that these factors were strongly and positively associated with health behaviors adoption in various contexts, including the pandemic [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”