General Population
Conditions
Brief summary
EpiCov is a population-based cohort which aims to provide national and regional estimates of seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and analyse relations between living conditions and the dynamics of the epidemic in France. The study population is a random sample of individuals aged 15 years and older, excluding people living in residences for the elderly and living in jail. The participants are recruited from the French national tax register and is representative of the population living in France. Home self-samples on Dried Blood Spots (DBS) for IgG and neutralizing antibodies detection were offered to a random national sub-sample of 12,114 in the 1st round of the EPICOV survey (May 2020) and to all respondents in the 2nd round (November 2020), including also serological testing for all members (≥ 6 years old) of household for 20% of index participants. A third round was perfomed in June-July 2021, without serological measurements. Overall, 134,391 participants have been enrolled in first-round (May 2020). Among them, 107 759 participated to the second round (November 2020) and 85 074 in third round (June 2021). The next wave is expected in March-april 2022.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France
Ministry of Health, France
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
15 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* individuals aged 15 years or older * living on January 1, 2020, in mainland France or one of three overseas departments (Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion Island).
Exclusion criteria
* individuals living in prisons at the time of the study * people living in residential institutions for dependent elderly persons, as caregivers were not available during the epidemic period to help them with internet access or phone calls.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in COVID-19 Seroprevalence over time | Inclusion, 6 months, 14 months, 28 months | Proportion of the individuals tested with an Euroimmun ELISA-S ratio \>1.1 (ELISA S+), from home self-sampling on capillarous blood sampled. Serological tests was based on a capillarous blood samples collected by the participants themselves, at home, from a finger prick dried blood spot 903 Whatman paper (DBS) kits, which was subsequently analyzed in a centralized virology laboratory. The sample kits were delivered by express mail to each participant who had sent their samples by mail to the EpiCov biobank. At the biobank, DBS cards were punched from the spots on the Whatman paper, using a PantheraTM machine (PerkinElmer). The tubes were sent to the virology laboratory (Unité des virus Emergents, Inserm/IRD, Marseille, France), in order to detect IgG antibodies against the spike protein (Euroimmun ELISA-S), and neutralizing antibodies for non-negative ELISA-S. |
| Changes in living condition | Inclusion, 6 months, 14 months, 28 months | Questions relating to living conditions were included: socioeconomic characteristics, size and nature of the habitation, number of people in the household, working condition, childcare, home-schooling, inter-partner relationships within the household |
| Changes in health condition | Inclusion, 6 months, 14 months, 28 months | Health status was described through general and specific questions regarding self-perceived health, symptoms potentially linked to COVID-19, mental health, and access to healthcare, whether or not linked to COVID-19. |
| COVID-19 IgG antibodies median | 28 months | Median of Euroimmun ELISA-S IgG, from home self-sampling on capillarous blood sampled. |
Countries
France
Outcome results
None listed