Design and Implementation of a Nationwide Population-Based Longitudinal Survey of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Spain: The ENE-COVID Study.

Abstract

<b>Data System.</b> The Spanish National Seroepidemiological Survey of SARS-CoV-2 (or ENE-COVID; SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] is the causative agent of COVID-19) was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and the Spanish National Health System. <b>Data Collection/Processing.</b> A stratified 2-stage probability sampling was used to select a representative cohort of the noninstitutionalized population of Spain. ENE-COVID collected longitudinal data from epidemiological questionnaires and 2 SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody tests. From April 27 to June 22, 2020, 68 287 participants (77.0% of contacted persons) received a point-of-care test and 61 095 (68.9%) also underwent a laboratory immunoassay. A second follow-up phase was conducted between November 16 and 30, 2020. <b>Data Analysis/Dissemination.</b> Analyses use weights to adjust for oversampling and nonresponse and account for design effects of stratification and clustering. ENE-COVID data for research purposes will be available upon request from the official study Web page. <b>Public Health Implications.</b> ENE-COVID, a nationwide population-based study, allowed monitoring seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 at the national and regional levels, providing accurate figures by gender, age (from babies to nonagenarians), and selected risk factors; characterizing symptomatic and asymptomatic infections; and estimating the infection fatality risk during the first pandemic wave. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2023;113(5):525-532. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307167).