Outdoor Activities Associated with Lower Odds of SARS-CoV-2 Acquisition: A Case–Control Study

Tommaso C. Bulfone, Cinthia Blat, Yea-Hung Chen, George W. Rutherford, Luis Gutierrez-Mock, Andrea Nickerson, Laura Buback, Susie Welty, Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, Wayne T. A. Enanoria and Michael J. A. Reid
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Tommaso C. Bulfone: School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Cinthia Blat: Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Yea-Hung Chen: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
George W. Rutherford: Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Luis Gutierrez-Mock: Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Andrea Nickerson: Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Laura Buback: Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Susie Welty: Institute for Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Karen Sokal-Gutierrez: School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
Wayne T. A. Enanoria: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Michael J. A. Reid: School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-6

Abstract: Access to recreational physical activities, particularly in outdoor spaces, has been a crucial outlet for physical and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to understand how conducting these activities modulates the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this case–control study of unvaccinated individuals conducted in San Francisco, California, the odds of testing positive to SARS-CoV-2 were lower for those who conducted physical activity in outdoor locations (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05, 0.40) in the two weeks prior to testing than for those who conducted no activity or indoor physical activity only. Individuals who visited outdoor parks, beaches, or playgrounds also had lower odds of testing positive to SARS-CoV-2 (aOR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.68) as compared with those who did not visit outdoor parks, beaches, or playgrounds. These findings, albeit in an unvaccinated population, offer observational data to support pre-existing ecological studies that suggest that activity in outdoor spaces lowers COVID-19 risk.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; transmission; outdoor activity; outdoor parks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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