Relationship between health related behaviors change after COVID-19 outbreak with psychological distress

With the outbreak of a new corona virus called Covid-19, negative changes in health behaviors, such as physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and sleep, have occurred worldwide. Since the beginning of the epidemic, travel restrictions, social distancing, and the closure of many public places have occurred. The sum of these events has led to negative consequences on the mental and physical health of individuals, which requires a careful study of its underlying factors. Therefore, in the present study, the relationship between changes in health-related behaviors after the outbreak of Covid-19 and psychological distress was investigated.

An online survey was made available to a wide range of audiences with the help of social messengers. The study population included all Iranian adults aged 18 years and older. Data collection was done in May 2020. Psychological distress was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS 21).Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). This questionnaire includes questions that assess the state of physical activity and classifies physical activity into three categories: weak, moderate, and severe. Data analysis was done by SPSS 20 software.

1400 sample (mean age 13.7 ± 43.4), most and nearly half of whom had at least one chronic disease, participated in the study. Nearly half of the participants reported a decrease in physical activity since the onset of the Covid-19 epidemic. Half of the participants reported no change in sleep quality, and most did not report any change in smoking since the outbreak of Covid-19. The linear regression test showed a significant association between increased depression, anxiety, and stress with negative changes in the combined behavior change score. There was health. This test also showed that compared to positive change or no change, negative change in behaviors was associated with a higher probability of increased depression, anxiety and stress.

Our findings suggest that negative changes in community health behaviors during the Covid-19 outbreak are directly related to increased psychological distress. Based on the results, it is necessary to take preventive and therapeutic measures for mental health problems as soon as possible during the outbreak of Covid-19.