Changes in Perceived Stress and Lifestyle Behaviors in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in The Netherlands: An Online Longitudinal Survey Study

Isabel A. L. Slurink, Veerle R. Smaardijk, Willem J. Kop, Nina Kupper, Floortje Mols, Dounya Schoormans and Sabita S. Soedamah-Muthu
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Isabel A. L. Slurink: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Veerle R. Smaardijk: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Willem J. Kop: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Nina Kupper: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Floortje Mols: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Dounya Schoormans: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Sabita S. Soedamah-Muthu: Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CORPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has substantial implications for physical and mental wellbeing. This study investigated changes, over time, in lifestyle behaviors and perceived stress during the initial phase of the pandemic and associations with COVID-19 symptoms, in the Dutch general population. An online longitudinal survey study was performed with pre-lockdown measurements in February, and subsequently in April and June 2020 ( n = 259, mean age 59 ± 14 years, 59% women). Self-report questionnaires were used to assess weight, diet quality, physical activity, alcohol intake, and smoking. Perceived stress was measured using the validated perceived stress scale (PSS-10). The presence of COVID-19 symptoms (yes/no) was defined as fever, or >3 of the following symptoms: weakness/tiredness, muscle ache, dry cough, loss of smell/taste, and breathing difficulties. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models, adjusted for age, sex, educational level, marital status and (change in) employment status. Minimal increases over time were observed in alcohol intake (0.6 ± 0.7 to 0.7 ± 1.1 glasses/day, p = 0.001) and smoking (9.5 ± 8.7 to 10.9 ± 9.4 cigarettes/day among 10% smokers, p = 0.03), but other lifestyle behaviors remained stable. In April 2020, 15% reported COVID-19-related symptoms, and in June 2020, this was 10%. The presence of COVID-19 symptoms was associated with increased perceived stress ( p interaction = 0.003) and increased alcohol consumption ( p interaction = 0.03) over time. In conclusion, in this prospective study, COVID-19 symptoms were associated with increases in perceived stress and alcohol consumption. Future research on biopsychosocial determinants and underlying mechanisms of lifestyle changes, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; lifestyle; health behavior; diet quality; physical activity; prospective cohort (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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