SARS-CoV-2 testing and infection in 41 208 physicians who practised in Ontario in 2020
| Characteristic | No. of physicians | No. (row %) of physicians tested | No. (row %) of physicians who tested positive | Proportion of total physicians n = 41 208 | Proportion of physicians tested n = 19 116 | Proportion of physicians testing positive n = 358 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 41 208 | 19116 (46.4) | 358 (0.9) | |||
| Age, yr | ||||||
| < 40 | 15 956 | 8707 (54.6) | 167 (1.0) | 38.7 | 45.5 | 46.6 |
| 40–59 | 16 422 | 7191 (43.8) | 123 (0.7) | 39.9 | 37.6 | 34.4 |
| ≥ 60 | 8830 | 3218 (36.4) | 68 (0.8) | 21.4 | 16.8 | 19.0 |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 23 102 | 9995 (43.3) | 213 (0.9) | 56.1 | 52.3 | 59.5 |
| Female | 18 106 | 9121 (50.4) | 145 (0.8) | 43.9 | 47.7 | 40.5 |
| Residence* | ||||||
| Urban | 39 265 | 18 127 (46.2) | ≥ 352 (≥ 0.9) | 95.2 | 94.8 | ≥ 98.3 |
| Rural | 1758 | 908 (51.6) | < 6 (< 0.3) | 4.3 | 4.7 | < 1.7 |
| Missing | 185 | 81 (43.8) | 0 (0) | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Local Health Integration Network† | ||||||
| Toronto Central | 9934 | 5088 (51.2) | 112 (1.1) | 24.1 | 26.6 | 31.3 |
| Central | 5323 | 2248 (42.2) | 50 (0.9) | 12.9 | 11.8 | 14.0 |
| Champlain | 5185 | 2399 (46.3) | 28 (0.5) | 12.6 | 12.5 | 7.8 |
| Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant | 4292 | 1983 (46.2) | 40 (0.9) | 10.4 | 10.4 | 11.2 |
| Mississauga Halton | 3372 | 1551 (46.0) | 42 (1.2) | 8.2 | 8.1 | 11.7 |
| South West | 3343 | 1593 (47.7) | 19 (0.6) | 8.1 | 8.3 | 5.3 |
| South East | 1868 | 712 (38.1) | < 6 (< 0.3) | 4.5 | 3.7 | < 1.7 |
| Central East | 1774 | 781 (44.0) | 18 (1.0) | 4.3 | 4.1 | 5.0 |
| Waterloo Wellington | 1441 | 635 (44.1) | 18 (1.2) | 3.5 | 3.3 | 5.0 |
| North East | 1251 | 626 (50.0) | < 6 (< 0.5) | 3.0 | 3.3 | < 1.7 |
| Erie St. Clair | 1121 | 410 (36.6) | 9 (0.8) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| North Simcoe Muskoka | 974 | 433 (44.5) | 7 (0.7) | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Central West | 738 | 299 (40.5) | 9 (1.2) | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| North West | 592 | 358 (60.5) | < 6 (< 1.0) | 1.4 | 1.9 | < 1.7 |
| Specialty | ||||||
| Family medicine | 18 553 | 8857 (47.7) | 171 (0.9) | 45.0 | 46.3 | 47.8 |
| Surgical | 4393 | 1679 (38.1) | 22 (0.5) | 10.7 | 8.8 | 6.1 |
| Internal medicine | 3499 | 1625 (46.4) | 44 (1.3) | 8.5 | 8.5 | 12.3 |
| Anesthesia | 1295 | 596 (46.0) | 6 (0.5) | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| Emergency | 478 | 281 (58.8) | < 6 (< 1.3) | 1.2 | 1.5 | < 1.7 |
| Cardiology | 363 | 161 (44.4) | < 6 (< 1.7) | 0.9 | 0.8 | < 1.7 |
| Postgraduate medical trainee | 4125 | 2531 (61.4) | 47 (1.1) | 0.1 | 13.2 | 13.1 |
| Infectious diseases | 67 | 33 (49.3) | < 6 (< 9.0) | 0.2 | 0.2 | < 1.7 |
| Other specialty | 6462 | 2516 (38.9) | ≥ 36 (≥ 0.6) | 15.7 | 13.2 | ≥ 10.1 |
| Missing | 1973 | 837 (42.4) | 14 (0.7) | 4.8 | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| Provided care in a long-term care home | ||||||
| No | 38 918 | 17 480 (44.9) | 333 (0.9) | 94.4 | 91.4 | 93.0 |
| Yes | 2290 | 1636 (71.4) | 25 (1.1) | 5.6 | 8.6 | 7.0 |
| Medical school location | ||||||
| Canada | 27 479 | 13 440 (48.9) | 230 (0.8) | 66.7 | 70.3 | 64.2 |
| International | 13 729 | 5676 (41.3) | 128 (0.9) | 33.3 | 29.7 | 35.8 |
| Hospital admissions‡ | ||||||
| ≥ 1 | 15 750 | 7735 (49.1) | 133 (0.8) | 38.2 | 40.5 | 37.2 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score‡ | ||||||
| 0 | 13 942 | 6975 (50.0) | 119 (0.9) | 88.5 | 90.2 | 89.5 |
| ≥ 1 | 1808 | 760 (42.0) | 14 (0.8) | 11.5 | 9.8 | 10.5 |
Note: CPSO = College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Rural was defined as residing in a location with a population of < 10 000 individuals.
↵† Residence within Local Health Integration Network regions as defined by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Physician’s residential location may not coincide with their practice location. For a map, see https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2015003/article/14144/c-g/fig1-eng.htm.
↵‡ Calculated using all hospital admission records in the 5-year period before study entry date. The study entry date was defined as Jan. 25, 2020, for physicians registered in CPSO on or before this date, and it was defined as the CPSO registration date for those who entered the cohort after this date.