# Sociodemographic influences on private and professional contact behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: cross-sectional analysis based on a Regional Blood Donor Cohort

## TL;DR

This study explores how sociodemographic factors influenced changes in private and professional contact behavior during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how education level and age influenced contact behavior changes during the pandemic.

## Key findings

- Higher education levels correlated with greater reductions in both private and professional contacts.
- Younger individuals reduced private contacts more significantly than older age groups.

## Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant health and socioeconomic impacts worldwide. Extensive measures, including contact restrictions, were implemented to control the spread of the virus. This study aims to examine the factors that influenced private and professional contact behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We used baseline data (January–April 2021) from the SeMaCo study (Serologische Untersuchungen bei Blutspendern des Großraums Magdeburg auf Antikörper gegen SARS-CoV-2), a longitudinal, regional cohort study assessing COVID-19 seroprevalence in blood donors from Magdeburg and surrounding areas in Germany. In the blood donor cohort (n = 2,195), there was a general reduction in private contacts (by 78.9%) and professional contacts (by 54.4%) after March 18, 2020. Individuals with higher education reduced both private (by 84.1%) and professional (by 70.1%) contacts more than those with lower education levels (private contacts 59.5%; professional contacts 37%). Younger age groups (18–30 years) reduced private contacts more frequently (by 85.4%) than older individuals (61–83 years, by 68.6%) and demonstrated a higher likelihood of private contact reduction compared to older age groups (51–60 years: odds ratio (OR) 0.45 [95% [CI] 0.32–0.65]; 61–83 years: OR 0.33 [95% [CI] 0.22–0.48]).

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-024-06867-9.