Biobehavioral Research Laboratory, School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States.
Department of Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai, India.
J Med Internet Res. 2021 Apr 22;23(4):e24964. doi: 10.2196/24964.
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, and as of this writing, Texas, United States, has reported >675,000 cases with over 14,000 deaths. Many of the preventive measures implemented during the pandemic can increase sedentary lifestyles, which can lead to the development of chronic diseases, including obesity, among the general population and cause serious threats to people's physical health and overall quality of life. Individuals with pre-existing comorbidities are at an increased risk of COVID-19 and may hence have higher levels of stress.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity levels and mental health status on an individual level and to compare them between those with and those without comorbidities in a cohort of Texas residents, before and after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
An electronic survey was disseminated throughout various regions of Texas. In total, 160 individuals were asked questions about their demographic characteristics, time spent on daily physical activities, and daily mental health status before and after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Frequency distributions and descriptive statistics were analyzed.
Overall, 94 (58%) participants reported having ≥1 medical condition, and 31 (13.1%) had >3 medical conditions. Physical activity levels among participants with ≥1 pre-existing comorbidity drastically-but not significantly-decreased, as evident from a 10% increase in sedentary lifestyles after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. On the contrary, we observed a 9% increase in the number of individuals without a pre-existing comorbidity who reported 30-60 min of physical activity per week. There was a 2-fold increase in the number of participants reporting more frequent feelings of nervousness, too much worry, trouble relaxing, and the fear of something awful happening after the pandemic. More specifically, individuals with pre-existing medical conditions reported, on average, a 10% higher incidence of feelings of stress, anxiety, and sadness compared to their healthy counterparts after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
Stressful life conditions and chronic comorbidities are risk factors that can affect mental health and reduce the ability to perform activities of daily life. Therefore, when implementing pandemic protocols, municipalities should consider providing mental health support to their citizens to protect them from this rather inconspicuous adverse effect.
2020 年 3 月 11 日，世界卫生组织宣布 COVID-19 为大流行病，截至本文撰写之时，美国德克萨斯州报告的病例已超过 67.5 万例，死亡人数超过 1.4 万。大流行期间实施的许多预防措施会增加久坐不动的生活方式，这会导致普通人群中出现肥胖等慢性病，并对人们的身体健康和整体生活质量造成严重威胁。患有预先存在的合并症的个体患 COVID-19 的风险更高，因此可能会承受更高水平的压力。
本研究旨在调查个体层面上的身体活动水平与心理健康状况之间的关系，并在德克萨斯州居民队列中，在 COVID-19 被宣布为大流行病前后，将其与患有和不患有合并症的个体进行比较。
通过电子调查在德克萨斯州的各个地区进行。共有 160 人回答了有关他们的人口统计学特征、每天进行身体活动的时间以及 COVID-19 被宣布为大流行病前后每天的心理健康状况的问题。分析了频率分布和描述性统计数据。
总体而言，94 名（58%）参与者报告有≥1 种医疗条件，31 名（13.1%）有>3 种医疗条件。患有预先存在的合并症的参与者的身体活动水平明显下降（10%），这表明大流行后久坐不动的生活方式有所增加。相反，我们观察到没有预先存在的合并症的参与者每周报告进行 30-60 分钟身体活动的人数增加了 9%。报告经常感到紧张、过度担忧、难以放松以及担心可怕的事情发生的参与者人数增加了两倍。具体来说，与健康对照组相比，患有预先存在的医疗条件的个体在 COVID-19 被宣布为大流行病后报告的压力、焦虑和悲伤感增加了平均 10%。
压力大的生活条件和慢性合并症是会影响心理健康并降低日常生活活动能力的风险因素。因此，在实施大流行协议时，市政府应考虑为公民提供心理健康支持，以保护他们免受这种不太明显的不利影响。
