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

Shuichi Hara, Hiroko Miura, Tsuyoshi Hita, Sahara Sasaki, Hidetoshi Ito, Yumi Kozaki and Yoshiko Kawasaki
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Shuichi Hara: School of Clinical Psychology, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, 1714-1 Yoshino-machi, Nobeoka, Miyazaki 882-8508, Japan
Hiroko Miura: Division of Disease Control and Epidemiology, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, 1757 Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido 061-0293, Japan
Tsuyoshi Hita: School of Social Welfare, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, 1714-1 Yoshino-machi, Nobeoka, Miyazaki 882-8508, Japan
Sahara Sasaki: School of Social Welfare, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, 1714-1 Yoshino-machi, Nobeoka, Miyazaki 882-8508, Japan
Hidetoshi Ito: School of Social Welfare, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, 1714-1 Yoshino-machi, Nobeoka, Miyazaki 882-8508, Japan
Yumi Kozaki: School of Social Welfare, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, 1714-1 Yoshino-machi, Nobeoka, Miyazaki 882-8508, Japan
Yoshiko Kawasaki: School of Social Welfare, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, 1714-1 Yoshino-machi, Nobeoka, Miyazaki 882-8508, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-10

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; older adults; health behavior; anxiety; mental stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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