Sociodemographic profile of mask-use during the COVID-19 outbreak among young and elderly Brazilian people (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Sociodemographic variables may impact people decisions. In this sense, the use of a face mask helps to decrease the spread of the COVID-19 and it could be a safety and health measure that would help fight the disease. OBJECTIVE To present and compaare sociodemographic, professional, and economic profile and COVID-19 aspects of face mask-use during the COVID-19 outbreak among a sample of young and elderly Brazilian people. METHODS An online Google survey was applied, composed of 14 items with closed questions about the sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, state and city of residence, marital status, religion, income, and education level) and questions about COVID-19 i.e., presence or not of symptoms; diagnosis or not of COVID-19; and health professional (yes or not). Our sample (n=2,673) consisted of a Brazilian people (≥ 18 years) from different regions and States. To compare the variables of interest (associated with wearing a mask), Chi-square and Likelihood Ratio test was used (p-value <0.05). RESULTS Most of the research participants, of the two groups (≤59 and ≥ 60 years old), were women, from Southeast region, postgraduate, and 61.1% of individuals aged ≤59 years and 67.8% of those aged ≥ 60 years were not workers of health. In the group aged ≤59 years, 83.4% of the individuals showed signs and symptoms, with 97.3% not being diagnosed with COVID-19. In the group aged ≥ 60 years, 92.5% had symptoms of COVID-19 and in 98.3% of individuals, the diagnosis was not confirmed. Majority of the participants, for both groups, reported the use of face masks that was significantly influenced by sex, level of education, and whether the participant was a health professional or not. CONCLUSIONS Young and older adults reported wearing face masks during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is difficult to measure how much this attitude and behavior could have an impact on the degree of infection and spread by the virus. However, it can be a positive indicator of adherence to the population's security measures during pandemic. CLINICALTRIAL