Abstract

Introduction: Some health instructions and proceedings were widely broadcasted and advised by scientific centers and social media concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention, in the early days of the epidemic. Almost all of them had been sourced from narrative statements or non-evidence based sciences. Herein, we intended to deeply investigate the usefulness and efficiency of such recommendation on COVID-19 prevention. Materials and Methods: Ninety-seven reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed positive COVID-19 individuals as case and 103 suffering from other diseases as control group were enrolled. To collect the data, an expert validated questionnaire encompassed demographic information, past medical history and pre-infection preventive proceedings (consumption of vitamin D3, C, and zinc supplement, wearing face masks and gloves, hand washing, keeping at least 1.5 m distance with other people and staying at home) was used. The data between two groups were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Results: No significant difference was obtained in zinc consumption between case and control groups (14 (14.4) vs 16 (15.5), OR=0.88, CI= 0.66-1.31). Consumption of vitamins D3 and C was significantly higher in patients suffering from COVID-19 compared to non-COVID-19 patients, (60 (61.9%) vs 47 (45.6%), OR=1.28, CI=1.12-1.48) for vitamin D3 and (54 (52.4%) vs 47 (48.4%), OR=1.15, CI=1.01=1.31). Hand and face hygiene was significantly more observed in non-COVID-19 patients group (77 (79.3%) vs 96 (93.2%), OR=0.82, CI=0.71-0.93). Home quarantine and keeping social distance were also significantly higher in non-COVID-19 patients group. Conclusions: General protective proceedings have significant protective roles against COVID-19. © 2020 The Author(s).