Impact of lockdown on lifestyle: Healthcare professionals and overall population

ABSTRACT

Objective: to explore the effects of lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic on the lifestyles of the overall population and healthcare professionals (HCPs). Method: a cross-sectional descriptive study. Non-probability snowball sampling was conducted through WhatsApp. After the pilot survey, an ad-hoc questionnaire was distributed on sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle variables during lockdown. The parametric tests used for analysis were Student- Fisher's t and Pearson's Chi-squared test, and odds ratio with CI95%. Results: the study included 184 HCPs and 460 non-HCPs. The median age of the sample was 40.4 (SD 12.8) years, they were mostly women (66.9%) with university education (65.8%). More HCPs had positive test results for COVID-19, OR= 17.1 (9.1- 32.1) or symptoms compatible with COVID-19, OR= 2.1 (1.4- 3.1). The psychological impact of lockdown was higher in HCPs, OR= 1.5 (1.0-2.1). There were no significant differences in the activities carried out during quarantine, except for telework (p< 0.001). The degree of concern self-reported by 68.0% of the non-HCP population was "Very concerned" and "Highly concerned", similarly to HCPs (65.8%) (p= 0.218). Healthy lifestyles were maintained during lockdown, except for physical exercise which was worse in both groups (66.3% of HCPs and 66.4% of non-HCPs). Smoking and/or alcohol intake increased between 20 and 30% in both groups. Conclusions: changes were perceived among HCPs and non- HCPs regarding occupation during lockdown, psychological impact or tendency to get infected. It is essential to introduce resources for mental healthcare, particularly for HCPs. © 2022 DAE Editorial, Grupo Paradigma. All rights reserved.