Prevalence and clinical profile of COVID-19 among farmworkers from the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Farmworkers in Brazil face poor living conditions, limited healthcare access, and high prevalence of chronic diseases. These vulnerabilities may increase COVID-19 risk, complications, and persistent symptoms, underscoring the importance of characterizing the disease's impact in this population. To identify the prevalence and clinical profile of COVID-19 among farmworkers of cities that participate of the Conselho Regional de Desenvolvimento do Vale do Rio Pardo. A retrospective cross-sectional study that utilized a database from a research performed with rural workers of cities from Conselho Regional de Desenvolvimento do Vale do Rio Pardo. Hundred seven volunteers were included (54.01 ± 13.02 years) who answered the questionnaries of life style and COVID-19, in addition to having performed body composition assessment. Prevalence ratio was measured to verify association between risk factors and COVID-19 diagnosis. Twenty-five people (23.36%) were diagnosticated with COVID-19. The more described symptoms were fatigue (84%), fever (68%), cough (68%), loss of taste (68%), headache (68%), and sore throat (64%). None of the participants was hospitalized. Symptoms of long covid were observed in 52% participants, with fatigue (24%) and breathless (16%) being the most prevalent. The results showed positive association between COVID-19 diagnosis and hypertension (prevalence ratio 1.23), cancer (prevalence ratio 1.22) and obesity (prevalence ratio 1.76). The results help to characterize the clinical profile of the disease in a population with less access to health services.