ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to explore how the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which contact communication was severely restricted, changed psychological health indicators, such as subjective assessment of health and depression, impulsivity, stress and emotional intelligence (EI) and how that depended on age, gender, physical activity (PA), sports specificity and body mass index (BMI).We surveyed 6369 before and 2392 people during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were aged 18-74 years. Participants completed the Danish Physical Activity Questionnaire (DPAQ), the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSREIT), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), subjective depression and health self-assessments. One-way and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed to assess the effect of independent variables on the dependent variables of MVPA (METs). Statistical analysis showed that restrictions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not alter moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), except for a significant decrease in MVPA in women aged 18-25 years, or body mass index in women and men of different ages. An increase in depression and impulsivity was observed, especially an increase in unplanned or spontaneous activity. The restrictions during the first wave increased stress in women of all ages and, rather unexpectedly, improved health self-assessment in men.The study showed that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic affected people's subjective assessment of health, depression, stress and impulsivity in two ways: it "weakened the weak ones" and "strengthened the strong ones".
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Male , Humans , Female , Adolescent , Young Adult , Adult , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Emotions , Impulsive Behavior , Body Mass IndexABSTRACT
Moods have been investigated previously in a range of cultural contexts. In our study, we investigated if six mood profiles previously identified, termed the iceberg, inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, shark fin, submerged, and surface profiles, were also evident among a Lithuanian sample. A Lithuanian translation of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS-LTU) was completed by a sample of 746 participants (male = 199, female = 547) aged from 17–78 years (M = 41.8 years, SD = 11.4 year). Seeded k-means cluster analysis clearly identified the six hypothesized mood profiles, the prevalence of which reflected previous findings. Cluster prevalence varied significantly by sex, age, exercise and smoking status, frequency of overeating, and self-rated health of participants. Male participants and older adults were under-represented for the inverse Everest profile and over-represented for the iceberg profile. Those who reported more healthy habits (i.e., exerciser, non-smoker, rarely overeat) and those reporting better self-rated health were over-represented for the iceberg profile and under-represented for negative mood profiles;namely, the inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, and shark fin profiles. Findings supported the cross-cultural invariance of the mood profile clusters and confirmed the link between unhealthy habits and negative mood profiles.
ABSTRACT
The objective was to determine the contributions to changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the COVID-19 restrictions by age, gender, education, place of residence, type of work, type of sport, Body Mass Index (BMI), subjective health status, smoking, alcohol consumption, overeating, impulsivity, depression symptoms, stress level, sleep duration and emotional intelligence (EI). We interviewed 6369 people in Lithuania before the COVID-19 pandemic and 2392 during the COVID-19 restrictions, and they were 18–4 years old. The initial COVID-19 restrictions reduced MVPA. This decrease was greater in individuals with lower education levels, higher BMI, higher stress levels and higher self-rated health status. MVPA decreased among those whose self-rated health status was the poorest but increased among those whose self-rated health status was the best. MVPA decreased among young women, women whose work was mostly sedentary and smoking women, and it decreased among overeating men. The particularity of sport, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, EI, impulsivity and depression symptoms did not have a significant effect on changes in MVPA during the COVID-19 restrictions, among either gender or any age group.
ABSTRACT
This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether COVID-19 had an impact on people's (aged 18-74) physical activity distribution, eating, and alcohol consumption habits as well as body mass index. We interviewed 6369 people (4545 women and 1824 men) in Lithuania before the COVID-19 pandemic started and 2392 during COVID-19 (1856 women and 536 men). They were aged 18-74 years. We found that both genders had not stopped their physical activity (PA) completely because of lockdown imitations (for example, prohibition from attending sport clubs), but they started doing different physical exercises at sport clubs. We determined the PA distribution according to the Danish Physical Activity Questionnaire (DPAQ). Despite increases in independent PA and the quantity of light PA, the amount of total energy used in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) units per day decreased significantly for both genders irrespective of age. Although the amounts of sedentary behavior, moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA) or a combination of MPA and VPA (MVPA) did not change significantly. Surprisingly, lockdown reduced the duration of sleep for older women but increased their amount of intense VPA (>6 METs). However, the amount of intense VPA decreased for men. Both genders reported overeating less during the pandemic than before it, but did not start consuming more alcohol, and their body mass index did not change. Thus, the COVID-19 in Lithuania represented 'good stress' that mobilized these individuals to exercise more independently and overeat less.