Evaluating the Effects of Common Health Instructions and Proceedings on COVID-19 Prevention

Introdution: 

Some health instructions and proceedings were widely broadcasted and advised by scientific centers and social media concerning COVID-19 prevention, in the early days of the epidemic. Almost all of them had been sourced from narrative statements or non-evidence based sciences.  Herein, we intended to deeply investigate the usefulness and efficiency of such recommendation on COVID-19 prevention.

Ninety-seven RT-PCR confirmed positive COVID-19 as case, 103 suffering from other diseases as control group were enrolled. To collect the data, an expert validated questionnaire encompassed demographic information, past medical history and pre-infection preventive proceedings (consumption of vitamin  D3, C, and Zinc supplement, wearing face masks and gloves, hand washing, keeping at least 1.5 meters distance with other people, and staying at home) was used. The data between two groups were analyzed using SPSS software version 16.

No significant difference was obtained in Zinc consumption between case and control groups (14 (14.4%) vs 16 (15.5%), OR=0.88, CI= 0.66-1.31). Interestingly, D3 and C vitamins consumption were significantly higher in patients suffering from COVID-19 compared to non-COVID-19 patients, [(60 (61.9%) vs 47 (45.6%), OR=1.28, CI=1.12-1.48) for vitamin D3 and (54 (52.4%) vs 47 (48.4%), OR=1.15, CI=1.01=1.31)]. Hand and face hygiene was significantly more observed in non-COVID-19 patients group (77 (79.3%) vs 96 (93.2%), OR=0.82, CI=0.71-0.93). Home quarantine and keeping social distance were also significantly higher in non-COVID-19 patients group.

General protective proceedings have significant protective roles against COVID-19.