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Seroepidemiological studies help identify the indirect distribution of diseases, detecting serological markers of immunity and demonstrating undiagnosed infections in the general population. The objectives were to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Córdoba, Argentina, from December 2020 to January 2021 and to identify factors associated with the virus' contagiousness. A population-based cross-sectional observational study was performed in 3,225 individuals over two years of age living in Córdoba city, selected by multiple-stage random sampling proportional to distribution by gender, age group, and socioeconomic status in the city's population. Clinical characteristics, anthropometry, and comorbidities were collected by interview. Qualitative serological testing was performed for detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies (ARCHITECT, Abbott). SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was estimated for the total population and by age group, sex, socioeconomic status, and presence of target diseases. Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using a log-binomial regression model. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was 16.68% (95%CI: 15.41-18.01). Age 2 to 18 years, living in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status, and obesity increased the odds of seropositivity (PR = 1.50; 95%CI: 1.10-2.04, PR = 1.91; 95%CI: 1.34-2.67 and PR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.04-1.85). The results indicate that the city of Córdoba displays differential attributes that increase the likelihood of a positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody test. This allows targeting epidemiological surveillance strategies to reduce the spread of the virus.

The study aimed to identify epidemiological-nutritional profiles in Argentina and to compare the burden of morbimortality from COVID-19. A multigroup ecological study was conducted with 24 geographic units in Argentina. We estimated the percent change from 2005 to 2018 in indicators of the epidemiological-nutritional transition and sociodemographic indicators according to geographic unit. We performed principal components analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis to identify geographic groupings to define profiles in the epidemiological-nutritional transition. By group, we calculated summary measures of COVID-19 cumulative incidence (CI), mortality, and case fatality (epidemiological week 50), establishing comparisons via Student's t test. Three profiles were identified: (1) reemergence of infectious diseases, (2) persistence of cardiovascular diseases despite social, health, and lifestyle improvements, and (3) consolidation of the triad obesity-sedentarism-cardiometabolic diseases. Mean COVID-19 cumulative incidence and mortality were higher in provinces with profile 1 compared to profile 2 (CI: p = 0.0159; mortality: p = 0.0187) and profile 3 (CI: p = 0.0205). Case-fatality was higher in profile 3, which includes provinces with more unfavorable socioeconomic conditions, showing significant differences from profile 2 (p=0.0307). In conclusion, there are distinct epidemiological-nutritional profiles in Argentina which tend to differ in terms of their COVID-19 epidemiological situation. Strategies to fight COVID-19 should consider the underlying epidemiological, nutritional, and sociodemographic characteristics.