National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
Department of Family Medicine, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021 Nov 26;7(11):e31635. doi: 10.2196/31635.
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically shifted living practices, thereby influencing changes in the health status and behaviors of every person.
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the self-reported health status and health behaviors along with any associated factors in adults in the Republic of Korea wherein no stringent lockdown measures were implemented during the pandemic.
We conducted a web-based self-reported survey from November 2020 to December 2020. The study participants (N=2097) were identified through quota sampling by age, sex, and geographical regions among residents aged 19 years or older in Korea. The survey collected information on basic demographics, changes in self-reported health status, and health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-reported health status and health behaviors were categorized into 3 groups: unchanged, improved, or worsened. A chi-square test and logistic regression analyses were conducted.
With regard to changes in the self-reported health status, the majority (1478/2097, 70.5%) of the participants reported that their health was unchanged, while 20% (420/2097) of the participants reported having worser health after the COVID-19 outbreak. With regard to changes in health behaviors, the proportion of participants who increased tobacco consumption was similar to that of those who decreased tobacco consumption (110/545, 20.2% vs 106/545, 19.5%, respectively), while the proportion of those who decreased their drinking frequency was more than twice as many as those who increased their drinking frequency (578/1603, 36.1% vs 270/1603, 16.8%, respectively). Further, those who decreased their exercising frequency were more than those who increased their exercising frequency (333/823, 15.9% vs 211/823, 10%, respectively). The factor that had the greatest influence on lifestyle was age. In the subgroup analysis, the group aged 20-29 years had the highest number of individuals with both a worsened (100/377, 26.5%) and an improved (218/377, 15.7%) health status. Further, individuals aged 20-29 years had greater odds of increased smoking (6.44, 95% CI 2.15-19.32), increased alcohol use (4.64, 95% CI 2.60-8.28), and decreased moderate or higher intensity aerobic exercise (3.39, 95% CI 1.82-6.33) compared to individuals aged 60 years and older. Younger adults showed deteriorated health behaviors, while older adults showed improved health behaviors.
The health status and the behavior of the majority of the Koreans were not found to be heavily affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. However, in some cases, changes in health status or health behavior were identified. This study highlighted that some groups were overwhelmingly affected by COVID-19 compared to others. Certain groups reported experiencing both worsening and improving health, while other groups reported unchanged health status. Age was the most influential factor for behavior change; in particular, the younger generation's negative health behaviors need more attention in terms of public health. As COVID-19 prolongs, public health interventions for vulnerable groups may be needed.
COVID-19 大流行极大地改变了人们的生活方式，从而影响了每个人的健康状况和行为的变化。
本研究旨在调查 COVID-19 对韩国成年人自我报告的健康状况和健康行为的影响，以及在大流行期间没有实施严格封锁措施的情况下任何相关因素。
我们于 2020 年 11 月至 2020 年 12 月期间进行了一项基于网络的自我报告调查。研究参与者（N=2097）是通过年龄、性别和地理位置在韩国 19 岁及以上居民中通过配额抽样确定的。该调查收集了基本人口统计学信息、COVID-19 大流行期间自我报告的健康状况变化和健康行为的信息。自我报告的健康状况和健康行为分为 3 组：不变、改善或恶化。采用卡方检验和 logistic 回归分析。
在自我报告的健康状况变化方面，大多数（1478/2097，70.5%）参与者报告他们的健康状况没有变化，而 20%（420/2097）的参与者报告 COVID-19 爆发后健康状况恶化。在健康行为变化方面，增加吸烟量的参与者比例与减少吸烟量的参与者比例相似（110/545，20.2%比 106/545，19.5%），而减少饮酒频率的参与者比例是增加饮酒频率的两倍多（578/1603，36.1%比 270/1603，16.8%）。此外，减少锻炼频率的参与者多于增加锻炼频率的参与者（333/823，15.9%比 211/823，10%）。对生活方式影响最大的因素是年龄。在亚组分析中，20-29 岁年龄组中健康状况恶化（100/377，26.5%）和改善（218/377，15.7%）的人数最多。此外，20-29 岁年龄组的人吸烟（6.44，95%CI 2.15-19.32）、饮酒（4.64，95%CI 2.60-8.28）和减少适度或更高强度的有氧运动（3.39，95%CI 1.82-6.33）的几率更高，而不是 60 岁及以上的人。年轻成年人的健康行为恶化，而老年人的健康行为改善。
大多数韩国人的健康状况和行为并没有因 COVID-19 爆发而受到严重影响。然而，在某些情况下，健康状况或健康行为发生了变化。本研究强调，与其他人群相比，一些人群受到 COVID-19 的影响更大。某些群体报告称健康状况恶化和改善，而其他群体报告健康状况不变。年龄是行为改变的最具影响力的因素；特别是，年轻一代的负面健康行为需要在公共卫生方面给予更多关注。随着 COVID-19 的持续，可能需要针对弱势群体的公共卫生干预措施。
