Underreporting of Work-Related COVID-19 Cases in Norway.

This register-based study provides a profile of work-related Covid-19 cases reported by physicians to the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority (NLIA). All the reports of work-related Covid-19 cases reported by a physician to the NLIAs Registry for Work-Related Diseases (RAS) between February 2020 and February 2022 were included. Descriptive statistics and the incidence rate of reported cases were computed for age, gender, and occupation. Two hundred and seventeen work-related Covid-19 cases were reported to RAS during the study period. Sixty-five percent of the cases were females ( = 141), and 35 percent ( = 76) were males. Doctors, nurses, and ambulance personnel yielded higher incidence rates than other healthcare and nonhealthcare occupations. This study indicates that women aged 25-39 and employed in the healthcare sector had the highest reported incidence and number of work-related Covid-19 cases. Physician underreporting of work-related Covid-19 cases is an important finding. Plausibly, underreporting is more substantial for at-risk non-healthcare occupations such as waiters, bartenders, food couriers, and taxi drivers than occupations in healthcare.