Effects of mobility restrictions on mental health among young adults in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the effects of mobility restriction on the mental health of Ecuadorian young adults. Methods: The current is a cross-sectional study that included 8426 young adults. Socio-demographic and mental health data were collected through an online survey during May and June 2020 in Ecuador. Data on mobility was extracted from Google Mobility Reports. Four aspects of the participants’ mental health were evaluated: eating behavior (emotional eating), depression, sleep quality and sense of coherence using previously validated instruments. Data were analyzed using linear regression using R. Results: Mean age of the participants was 22.85 (SD = 4.43), most of whom were women (n = 5943, 70.53%). During mandatory confinement, mobility due to retail and recreation, to groceries and pharmacies, to parks, to transit stations, to workplaces were reduced by nearly 50%. In contrast, mobility to places of residence increased by nearly 20%. A reduction in mobility to workplaces was associated to less healthy eating behavior, depression and worse sleep quality. Less healthy eating behavior was also associated to decreased mobility due to recreation and retail and increased mobility to transit stations. Sense of coherence was not associated to changes on mobility. Women and youngsters more often showed depression, less healthy eating behavior, worse quality of sleep and lower sense of coherence. Conclusion: Mobility restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on people's mental health. Prevention and health promotion measures directed to ameliorate the effects of confinement on mental health should target risk populations including women and youngsters.

Resilience And Mental Health Among Young Adults In The Context of Lockdown Due To The COVID-19 Pandemic

“…These results are consistent with previous studies, which have also obtained relevant associations on this topic. For example, associations have been found between emotional eating and reduced trips to workplaces and parks [32]. The same is true for sleep quality, where a deterioration has been detected, due to restrictions of mobility and stress generated during lockdown [8, [49][50].…”

“…Sociodemographic data of participants was collected as part of the on-line survey as previously described in our preprint publication [32]. Compliance with lockdown measures was measured indirectly analyzing information extracted from COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports [33].…”