TY - JOUR
T1 - Health behavior changes during covid-19 pandemic and subsequent “stay-at-home” orders
AU - Knell, Gregory
AU - Robertson, Michael C.
AU - Dooley, Erin E.
AU - Burford, Katie
AU - Mendez, Karla S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: This research was made possible in part by the Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship and by the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, both at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Funding Information:
Funding: Michael C. Robertson was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, grant number F31 CA236433. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, MDPI AG. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic, and resultant “Stay-at-Home” orders, may have impacted adults’ positive health behaviors (sleep, physical activity) and negative health behaviors (alcohol consumption, drug use, and tobacco use). The purpose of this study was to investigate how these health behaviors changed (increased/improved or decreased/worsened) at the early stages of the pandemic, what participant characteristics were associated with health behavior changes, and why these behavioral changes may have occurred. A convenience sample of 1809 adults residing in the United States completed a 15-min self-report questionnaire in April and May 2020. Multinomial logistic regressions and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate how, for whom, and why these health behaviors changed. Participants were primarily female (67.4%), aged 35–49 years (39.8%), college graduates (83.3%), non-tobacco users (74.7%), and had previously used marijuana (48.6%). Overall, participants primarily reported a decrease in physical activity, while sleep and all of the negative health behaviors remained the same. Changes in negative health behaviors were related (p < 0.05) to sex, age, parental status, educational status, job status, BMI, and depression scores. Changes in positive health behaviors were related (p < 0.05) to sex, parental status, job status, and depression scores. Having more time available during the pandemic was the most commonly cited reason for changing health behaviors (negative and positive). Public health efforts should address the potential for long-term health consequences due to behavior change during COVID-19.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic, and resultant “Stay-at-Home” orders, may have impacted adults’ positive health behaviors (sleep, physical activity) and negative health behaviors (alcohol consumption, drug use, and tobacco use). The purpose of this study was to investigate how these health behaviors changed (increased/improved or decreased/worsened) at the early stages of the pandemic, what participant characteristics were associated with health behavior changes, and why these behavioral changes may have occurred. A convenience sample of 1809 adults residing in the United States completed a 15-min self-report questionnaire in April and May 2020. Multinomial logistic regressions and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate how, for whom, and why these health behaviors changed. Participants were primarily female (67.4%), aged 35–49 years (39.8%), college graduates (83.3%), non-tobacco users (74.7%), and had previously used marijuana (48.6%). Overall, participants primarily reported a decrease in physical activity, while sleep and all of the negative health behaviors remained the same. Changes in negative health behaviors were related (p < 0.05) to sex, age, parental status, educational status, job status, BMI, and depression scores. Changes in positive health behaviors were related (p < 0.05) to sex, parental status, job status, and depression scores. Having more time available during the pandemic was the most commonly cited reason for changing health behaviors (negative and positive). Public health efforts should address the potential for long-term health consequences due to behavior change during COVID-19.
KW - Alcohol use
KW - COVID-19
KW - Health behaviors
KW - Marijuana use
KW - Physical activity
KW - Sleep
KW - Tobacco use
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090037395&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85090037395&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17176268
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17176268
M3 - Article
C2 - 32872179
AN - SCOPUS:85090037395
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 16
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 17
M1 - 6268
ER -