March 18, 2021

OpenSAFELY updated data on living with children and COVID-19 outcomes in adults

OpenSAFELY is a platform which analyses existing NHS electronic health records to look for patterns in patients who are hospitalised with or die with COVID-19.

In November last year the team presented preprint data on whether infection, hospitalisation and death with COVID-19 in adults was more or less likely if those adults lived with children.  At that time they had data from February to August 2020.

They now have data up until December 2020 (so including some of the second wave) and have published this in the BMJ.

Journalists dialled in to this briefing to hear the authors of the study explain whether they found associations between living with children and any COVID-19 outcomes.

Speakers included:

Dr Harriet Forbes, Epidemiologist and Research Fellow, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

Dr Laurie Tomlinson, Electronic Health Records Research Group, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Prof Liam Smeeth, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Dr Ben Goldacre, Director of the DataLab in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.