Washington State Twin RegistryCOVID-19COVID-19 findingsCOVID Baseline Update #4

COVID Baseline Update #4

May 13, 2020

In our recent COVID-19 survey, we asked participants several questions about their exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Most participants reported not having been diagnosed with COVID-19, with very few participants reported having household and/or family members diagnosed with COVID-19. However, 42.69 $%$ participants reported knowing at least one friend (and/or classmate) who was diagnosed with COVID-19. More than a quarter (26.03 $%$ ) of the participants reported knowing at least one person from work (co-worker, client, and/or patient) who was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Exposure	No	Yes
Self	99.75	0.25
Co-twin	99	1
Any household member	99.77	0.23
Any family member (outside household)	86	14
Any friend	57	43
Any neighbor	91.9	8.1
Anyone from work	74	26
Any other person	98.3	1.7

We subsequently created an “exposure to COVID-19” variable; 17.78 $%$ of the participants reported having any exposure to COVID-19, and 82.22 $%$ reported having no exposure to COVID-19.

Exposure to COVID-19 and stress

Compared to participants who had no exposure to COVID-19, those who had exposure to COVID-19 had slightly higher stress levels ( $M_{N o E x p o s u r e}$ = 12.01 vs. $M_{E x p o s u r e}$ = 13.64). As we have shown previously, the average stress level was higher among women than men ( $M_{M e n}$ = 10.47 vs. $M_{W o m e n}$ = 13.12). However, there was no interaction between exposure to COVID-19 and gender on stress, meaning that the association between exposure to COVID-19 and stress levels did not differ as a function of gender.

Exposure to COVID-19 and anxiety

Compared to participants who had no exposure to COVID-19, those who had exposure to COVID-19 had slightly higher anxiety levels ( $M_{N o E x p o s u r e}$ = 3.39 vs. $M_{E x p o s u r e}$ = 4.52). As we have shown previously, the average anxiety level was higher among women than men ( $M_{M e n}$ = 2.41 vs. $M_{W o m e n}$ = 4.12). However, there was no interaction between exposure to COVID-19 and gender on anxiety, meaning that the association between exposure to COVID-19 and anxiety levels did not differ as a function of gender.