ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The association between toothbrushing and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections is unknown. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the change in time and frequency of toothbrushing is associated with having COVID-19 symptoms. METHODS: In this 8-month retrospective cohort study, we used the data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS; N = 22,366), which was conducted between August and September 2020. The logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) of having the 3 main COVID-19 symptoms (high fever, cough, and taste and smell disorder). Confounders were age, sex, educational attainment, equivalised income level, self-rated health, health literacy, and living area. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 49 years (SD = ±17.3), and 49.2% were male. Overall 2704 (12.1%) participants changed (increased or decreased) the time and frequency of toothbrushing, whilst 19,662 (87.9%) did not change. Only 60 participants (0.3%) had the 3 main COVID-19 symptoms. All logistic regression models showed that those who had a change in time and frequency of toothbrushing had higher odds of having the 3 main COVID-19 symptoms compared to those who had unchanged time and frequency of toothbrushing. The ORs ranged from 6.00 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.60-9.99) in the crude model to 4.08 (95% CI, 2.38-6.98) in the fully adjusted model. CONCLUSIONS: The change in time and frequency of toothbrushing from before to after the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with having the 3 main COVID-19 symptoms.
ABSTRACT
The influence of different types of information sources on individual preventive behaviors remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the associations between individual information usage to obtain information about COVID-19 and compliance with preventive behaviors. This longitudinal study was based on an Internet survey conducted in August-September 2020 and February 2021. We used compliance with four preventive behaviors for COVID-19, "wearing a mask", "ventilation", "social distancing", and "avoiding crowds" as outcome variables, and 20 types of information sources based on people or institutions (Medical worker, Government, etc.) and media (TV news, Twitter, etc.) as predictors. Absolute differences and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using generalized estimating equations adjusted for possible confounders. Among the 18,151 participants aged 20-79, the mean age was 51.7 (SD = 15.9) in 2020, and 51.3% were male. In total, compliance with "wearing a mask", "ventilation", "social distancing", and "avoiding crowds" was seen in 86.2%, 46.9%, 45.4%, and 62.6% of individuals in 2020, and 89.3%, 38.2%, 47.2%, and 61.6% of individuals in 2021, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, "medical workers", "professionals", "the government", "Twitter", "news websites", and "TV news" were positively associated with compliance with two or more preventive behaviors (p < 0.05). The type of information source may play an important role in providing information for COVID-19 prevention.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and the resulting state of emergency have restricted work environments, which may contribute to increased duration of sedentary behaviors. This study investigated the self-reported sedentary time of Japanese workers during and after the first state of emergency (April 7 to May 25, 2020) and examined differences in sedentary time after starting work from home and according to job type. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey, a web-based questionnaire survey conducted from August to September 2020 (n = 11,623; age range 15-79 years; 63.6% male). Prolonged sedentary time was calculated by subtracting the sedentary time after the state of emergency (defined as the normal sedentary time) from that during the emergency, with adjustments using inverse probability weighting for being a respondent in an internet survey. RESULTS: An increase in sedentary time of at least 2 hours was reported by 12.8% of respondents who started working from home during the state of emergency, including 9.7% of salespersons and 7.7% of desk workers. After adjusting for potential confounders, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for a prolonged sedentary time ≥2 hours was significantly higher in respondents who started to work from home (OR: 2.14, 95% confidence interval: 1.78-2.57), and certain job types (desk workers; OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.27-1.91, salespersons; OR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.64-2.51). CONCLUSIONS: Working from home and non-physical work environments might be important predictors of prolonged sedentary time.