Relationship between Psychological Status and Health Behaviors during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to be a widespread pandemic. We investigated the relationship between anxiety/stress and health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in homebound Japanese older adults during January and February 2021. We surveyed 1507 community-dwelling, older Japanese adults using a self-administered questionnaire on primary attributes, including family structure, evaluation of psychological anxiety/stress, and health behaviors. Participants were divided into four anxiety/stress groups based on the frequency of experiencing anxiety/stress, and their association with health behaviors was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Responses were received from 469 (31.1%) respondents. In the bivariate analysis, age and family structure were significantly associated with anxiety/stress (p < 0.01). The health behaviors significantly associated with anxiety/stress were walking, balanced eating habits, limited snacking, regular lifestyle, and dental visits. Logistic regression analysis was performed using the variables in the bivariate analysis that showed a significant association with anxiety/stress status as independent variables. Finally, age and dietary habits were significantly associated with anxiety/stress status. No significant associations were found between any other variables. Among older adults living in the rural areas of Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety/stress status was significantly associated with age and dietary habits but not with other health behaviors.

Anxiety over the Spread of COVID-19 and its related Factors among Older Adults in Bangkok

“…help reduce anxiety. According to Hara et al (2021) [8], health behaviors were significantly associated with anxiety (p <.001).Further, Chayanit Luevanich et al (2020) [24] found that the participants with a good level of health literacy had a very good level of new normal behavior; communication skills for COVID-19 prevention and media and information literacy could explain 52.2% of the participants' new normal behavior.…”

“…Good health behaviors are critical for minimizing stress and anxiety in older adults. Hara et al (2021) also indicated that health behaviors were statistically significantly correlated with anxiety (p<0.01) [8].…”

“…According to a literature review, anxiety in older adults is concerned with several factors [7, 8 -11]. Age is associated with severe infection and mortality [7,8]. Increasing age is correlated with increasing anxiety.…”