TITLE:
Documented SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Anxiety, Depression, and Work Disruption among Oil Industry Workers in the Republic of the Congo
AUTHORS:
Ebenguela Ebatetou Ataboho, Juste Morel Mantinou
KEYWORDS:
COVID-19, Occupational Health, Mental Health, Oil Industry, Republic of the Congo
JOURNAL NAME:
Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine,
Vol.14 No.4,
September
20,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background: Continuously operating oil-industry settings combine workforce rotations, shared transport or accommodation, and limited scope for remote work. We described documented SARS-CoV-2 infection, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and work disruption among workers at an oil company in the Republic of the Congo during 2020. Methods: This observational study combined a retrospective review of occupational health and human resources records from March to December 2020 with a cross-sectional psychometric survey conducted in November 2020. Among 695 registered workers, 647 met the eligibility criteria. Documented infection was defined as at least one recorded positive RT-PCR result. GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores of 10 or higher identified clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms. Crude prevalence ratios (PRs) compared workers with and without documented infection. Results: Documented infection occurred in 119 of 647 workers (18.4%, 95% CI 15.6 - 21.6). Among these cases, 86 (72.3%) were mild, 29 (24.4%) moderate, and 4 (3.4%) severe; no death was recorded. Complete psychometric data were available for 621 workers (96.0%). Anxiety symptoms affected 228/621 (36.7%, 95% CI 33.0 - 40.6), depressive symptoms 133/621 (21.4%, 95% CI 18.4 - 24.8), and both 82/621 (13.2%, 95% CI 10.8 - 16.1). Symptoms were more frequent among workers with documented infection: anxiety, 56.3% versus 32.1% (crude PR 1.76, 95% CI 1.43 - 2.15); depression, 34.5% versus 18.3% (crude PR 1.88, 95% CI 1.38 - 2.56). Work interruption exceeding 14 days affected 92 workers (14.2%), and 15/23 operational units (65.2%) were reorganized. Conclusions: Documented infection, psychological symptoms, and operational disruption were substantial. Because testing coverage was unknown, infection status was not temporally aligned with the November survey, and associations were unadjusted, causal inference cannot be supported. Integrated infection surveillance, confidential mental-health care, and continuity planning are warranted in continuously operating industries.