Self-Reported Mental Health and Lifestyle Behaviour During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Population: Evidence From Two Cross-Sectional Surveys

Abstract

Objectives: Evidence of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental and physical health behaviours is limited. This study presents results of two cross-sectional surveys on mental health changes and its consequences on healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours.Methods: An online survey was distributed during Spring 2020 (N = 9,168) and Autumn 2020 (N = 1,042) in the Czech Republic. Differences in mental health observed in both surveys were evaluated using Mann-Whitney test and logistic regressions were used to examine demographic and socio-economic determinants of COVID-19-related mental health issues and resulting healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours.Results: In multivariable models, the youngest individuals, females, people with increased work demands and participants with a reduced personal income due to the COVID-19 pandemic were all negatively associated with self-reported mental health issues (p < 0.05). A worsened quality of sleep, dietary habits, physical activity and unhealthy behaviours were highly associated with affected mental health in the models adjusted for potential covariates (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Taken together, these findings suggest that health promotion strategies directed to individuals who are at risk should be encouraged to adopt and/or maintain positive health-related behaviours.

Determinants of depressive symptoms increase in older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Czech cohort study using repeated assessments

“…We found that the magnitude of mental health changes varied by sociodemographic characteristics. Contrary to previous European research suggesting that older adults cope with the COVID-19 crisis better than younger individuals,23 29–31 our study showed that changes in depression scores were strongly associated with age; the highest depression changes were observed in the oldest age group (≥76 years) of the participants compared with younger individuals. This could be explained by the exacerbated fear of becoming severely ill or dying for COVID-19 with increasing age.…”

“…Also, depression and pandemic-related stressors were measured before the vaccination was available, which could cause much higher stress and anxiety. In addition, this study provides only several potential pandemic-related risk factors of depressive symptoms (eg, social isolation, financial distress, death or hospitalisation of a close person) while current literature highlighted also the importance of personality characteristics and lifestyle (eg, sleep quality, physical activity etc) that might play an important role in mental health changes 7 17 31. Lastly, reverse causation bias, a pervasive issue in observational studies, might occur.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Healthcare Utilization in Switzerland Was Strongest Among Young Females—Retrospective Study in 2018–2020

“…In Switzerland, evidence suggests that the mental health status of the majority of the population has not been severely affected by the pandemic, but that young people and especially young females have been particularly vulnerable to the detrimental mental health effects of the pandemic [7,8]. These findings are well in line with the international literature [9][10][11][12][13][14].…”