Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2021; 79(05): 429-436
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X-ANP-2020-0482
Article

Impact of COVID-19 on eating habits, physical activity and sleep in Brazilian healthcare professionals

Impacto da COVID-19 nos hábitos alimentares, atividade física e sono em profissionais de saúde brasileiros
Isabella Araújo Mota 
1   Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa PB, Brazil.
,
Gilberto Diniz de Oliveira  Sobrinho
2   Centro de Atenção Psicossocial de João Pessoa, João Pessoa PB, Brazil.
,
Iuara Paiva Silva Morais 
3   Hospital de Emergência e Trauma Senador Humberto Lucena, João Pessoa PB, Brazil.
,
Thamires Ferreira Dantas 
4   Singular Clínica, João Pessoa PB, Brazil.
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

ABSTRACT

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Brazilian healthcare professionals could have been experiencing impacts on their routine, behavior and mental health. Objective: To investigate changes in the daily life and sleeping habits of healthcare professionals in Brazil. Methods: We conducted an observational and cross-sectional study from May to July 2020. A Google Forms questionnaire was made available to Brazilian healthcare professionals on the WhatsApp mobile application and through the website of the Brazilian Hospital Services Company. Results: The sample (n=710) was mostly composed of women (80.8%), aged between 30 and 40 years old (46.6%), predominantly physicians (41.8%) and residing mostly in the state of Paraíba (66.9%), Brazil. Approximately two-thirds of the total sample had some sleep-related complaints, 25.8% due to difficulty initiating sleep, 29.6% due to difficulty staying asleep and 32.5% due to early morning waking. From the population studied, 28.7% (n=204) reported the use of insomnia medication, and 60.3% (n=123) of these were self-medicating. Some participants reported a change in diet (n=557; 78.5%), especially related to the increase in carbohydrate intake (n=174; 24.5%), and 27% (n=192) of the individuals reported an increase of the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Of the total, 561 (81.8%) reported a change in the practice of physical activity. Conclusion: In this study, Brazilian healthcare professionals showed aspects of quality of life that were more affected during the COVID-19 pandemic than the prevalence seen in surveys of international studies for the general population.

RESUMO

Antecedentes: Durante a pandemia de COVID-19, os profissionais de saúde brasileiros podem estar sofrendo impactos em sua rotina, comportamento e saúde mental. Objetivo: Investigar mudanças na vida diária e nos hábitos de sono de profissionais de saúde no Brasil. Métodos: Estudo observacional e transversal, que ocorreu de maio a julho de 2020. Um questionário da Google (Google forms) foi disponibilizado aos profissionais de saúde brasileiros no aplicativo móvel WhatsApp e no site da Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitalares. Resultados: A amostra (n=710) foi composta em sua maioria por mulheres (80,8%), com idade entre 30 e 40 anos (46,6%), predominantemente composta de médicos (41,8%) e residentes, em sua maioria no estado da Paraíba (66,9%). Aproximadamente dois terços do total da amostra tinham algumas queixas relacionadas ao sono: 25,8% sobre a dificuldade de iniciar o sono, 29,6% sobre a dificuldade de mantê-lo e 32,5% sobre despertar precoce pela manhã. Da amostra, 28,7% (n=204) referiram fazer uso de medicamentos para insônia e 60,3% (n=123) desses realizaram automedicação. Alguns participantes relataram mudança na dieta alimentar (n=557; 78,5%), principalmente relacionada ao aumento da ingestão de carboidratos (n=174; 24,5%). Observou-se também que 27% (n=192) dos indivíduos relataram aumento no consumo de bebidas alcoólicas. Do total, 561 (81,8%) relataram mudança na prática de atividade física. Conclusão: Nesta pesquisa, os profissionais de saúde brasileiros apresentaram aspectos da qualidade de vida que foram mais afetados durante a pandemia de COVID-19 do que as prevalências obtidas em pesquisas de estudos internacionais para a população em geral.

Keywords

Coronavirus - Eating Habits - Physical Activity - Mental Health - Healthcare Professionals

Palavras-chave

Novo Coronavírus - Comportamento Alimentar - Atividade Física - Saúde Mental - Profissionais de Saúde

Authors’ contributions:

IAM: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, project administration, visualization, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing. GDOS: formal analysis, visualization, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing. TFD: conceptualization, methodology, supervision. IPSM: conceptualization, formal analysis, writing-review & editing.




Publication History

Received: 19 October 2020

Accepted: 16 February 2021

Article published online:
07 June 2023

© 2021. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

 

  • References

  • 1 Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y, et al. Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar;382(13):1199-207. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316
  • 2 World Health Organization. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Situation Reports [accessed on 2020 Aug 23]. Available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports
  • 3 Brazil. Ministério da Saúde. Coronavírus Brasil [accessed on 2020 Aug 23]. Available at: https://covid.saude.gov.br/
  • 4 Luo M, Guo L, Yu M, Jiang W, Wang H. The psychological and mental impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on medical staff and general public - a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Jun;291:113190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113190
  • 5 Holmes EA, O’Connor RC, Perry VH, Tracey I, Wessely S, Arseneault L, et al. Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 Jun;7(6):547-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1
  • 6 Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N, et al. Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Mar;3(3):e203976. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
  • 7 Brazil. Ministério da Economia. Rede Ebserh. Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitalares. [accessed on 2020 Aug 23]. Available at: https://www.gov.br/ebserh/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/hospitais-universitarios-federais/rede-ebserh
  • 8 Castro LS. Adaptação e validação do Índice de Gravidade de Insânia (IGI): Caracterização Populacional, Valores Normativos e Aspectos Associados. Adaptation and validation of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI): population characteristics, normative values and associated factors. 2011 [accessed on 2020 Aug 23]. Available at: https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/23193
  • 9 Thorndike FP, Ritterband LM, Saylor DK, Magee JC, Gonder-Frederick LA, Morin CM. Validation of the insomnia severity index as a web-based measure. Behav Sleep Med. 2011 Oct;9(4):216-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2011.606766
  • 10 Brazil. Ministério da Saúde. Boletim Epidemiológico no 25. Semana Epidemiológica 31 (26/07 a 01/08) [accessed on 2020 Aug 23]. Available at: https://coronavirus.saude.gov.br/boletins-epidemiologicos
  • 11 Castro LS, Poyares D, Leger D, Bittencourt L, Tufik S. Objective prevalence of insomnia in the São Paulo, Brazil epidemiologic sleep study. Ann Neurol. 2013 Oct;74(4):537-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.23945
  • 12 Almandoz JP, Xie L, Schellinger JN, Mathew MS, Gazda C, Ofori A, et al. Impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on weight-related behaviours among patients with obesity. Clin Obes. 2020 Jun;e12386. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12386
  • 13 Ammar A, Brach M, Trabelsi K, Chtourou H, Boukhris O, Masmoudi L, et al. Effects of COVID-19 home confinement on eating behaviour and physical activity: results of the ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey. Nutrients. 2020 Oct;12(6). https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.04.20072447
  • 14 Di Renzo L, Gualtieri P, Pivari F, Soldati L, Attinà A, Cinelli G, et al. Eating habits and lifestyle changes during COVID-19 lockdown: an Italian survey. J Transl Med. 2020 Aug;18(1):229. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02399-5
  • 15 Ruíz-Roso MB, de Carvalho Padilha P, Matilla-Escalante DC, Brun P, Ulloa N, Acevedo-Correa D, et al. Changes of physical activity and ultra-processed food consumption in adolescents from different countries during Covid-19 pandemic: an observational study. Nutrients. 2020 Jul;12(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082289
  • 16 Patterson R, McNamara E, Tainio M, de Sá TH, Smith AD, Sharp SJ, et al. Sedentary behaviour and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, and incident type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose response meta-analysis. Eur J Epidemiol. 2018 Sep;33(9):811-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0380-1
  • 17 Peçanha T, Goessler KF, Roschel H, Gualano B. Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic can increase physical inactivity and the global burden of cardiovascular disease. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2020 Jan;318(6):H1441-6. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00268.2020
  • 18 Wu K, Wei X. Analysis of psychological and sleep status and exercise rehabilitation of front-line clinical staff in the fight against COVID-19 in China. Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2020 May;26:e924085. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSMBR.924085
  • 19 Li X, Yu H, Bian G, Hu Z, Liu X, Zhou Q, et al. Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical correlates of insomnia in volunteer and at home medical staff during the COVID-19. Brain Behav Immun. 2020 Jul;87:140-1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.008
  • 20 Zhang C, Yang L, Liu S, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, et al. Survey of insomnia and related social psychological factors among medical staff involved in the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak. Front Psychiatry. 2020 Apr;11:306. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00306
  • 21 Wang S, Xie L, Xu Y, Yu S, Yao B, Xiang D. Sleep disturbances among medical workers during the outbreak of COVID-2019. Occup Med (Lond). 2020 Jul;70(5):364-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqaa074
  • 22 Chua SE, Cheung V, Cheung C, McAlonan GM, Wong JWS, Cheung EPT, et al. Psychological effects of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong on high-risk health care workers. Can J Psychiatry. 2004 Jun;49(6):391-3. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370404900609
  • 23 Su T-P, Lien T-C, Yang C-Y, Su YL, Wang J-H, Tsai S-L, et al. Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and psychological adaptation of the nurses in a structured SARS caring unit during outbreak: a prospective and periodic assessment study in Taiwan. J Psychiatr Res. 2007 Feb;41(1-2):119-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2005.12.006
  • 24 Voitsidis P, Gliatas I, Bairachtari V, Papadopoulou K, Papageorgiou G, Parlapani E, et al. Insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Greek population. Psychiatry Research. 2020 Jul;289:113076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113076
  • 25 Koh D, Lim MK, Chia SE, Ko SM, Qian F, Ng V, et al. Risk perception and impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on work and personal lives of healthcare workers in Singapore: what can we learn? Med Care. 2005 Jul;43(7):676-82. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.mlr.0000167181.36730.cc
  • 26 Wong TW, Yau JKY, Chan CLW, Kwong RSY, Ho SMY, Lau CC, et al. The psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak on healthcare workers in emergency departments and how they cope. Eur J Emerg Med. 2005 Feb;12(1):13-8. https://doi.org/10.1097/00063110-200502000-00005
  • 27 Jehan S, Zizi F, Pandi-Perumal SR, Myers AK, Auguste E, Jean-Louis G, et al. Shift work and sleep: medical implications and management. Sleep Med Disord. 2017;1(2). https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10069-0006
  • 28 Maunder RG, Lancee WJ, Rourke S, Hunter JJ, Goldbloom D, Balderson K, et al. Factors associated with the psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on nurses and other hospital workers in Toronto. Psychosom Med. 2004 Dec;66(6):938-42. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000145673.84698.18
  • 29 Zhang B, Wing Y-K. Sex differences in insomnia: a meta-analysis. Sleep. 2006 Jan;29(1):85-93. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/29.1.85
  • 30 Reyes-Olavarría D, Latorre-Román PÁ, Guzmán-Guzmán IP, Jerez-Mayorga D, Caamaño-Navarrete F, Delgado-Floody P. Positive and negative changes in food habits, physical activity patterns, and weight status during COVID-19 confinement: associated factors in the Chilean population. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jul;17(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155431
  • 31 Damiot A, Pinto AJ, Turner JE, Gualano B. Immunological Implications of Physical Inactivity among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Gerontology. 2020 Jun;1-8. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509216
  • 32 Simpson RJ, Kunz H, Agha N, Graff R. Exercise and the regulation of immune functions. Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2015;135:355-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pmbts.2015.08.001
  • 33 Kursumovic E, Lennane S, Cook TM. Deaths in healthcare workers due to COVID-19: the need for robust data and analysis. Anaesthesia. 2020;75(8):989-92. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15116
  • 34 Afshin A, Sur PJ, Fay KA, Cornaby L, Ferrara G, Salama JS, et al. Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2019 May;393(10184):1958-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30041-8
  • 35 Seidelmann SB, Claggett B, Cheng S, Henglin M, Shah A, Steffen LM, et al. Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health. 2018 Sep;3(9):e419-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(18)30135-x
  • 36 Hublin C, Partinen M, Koskenvuo M, Kaprio J. Heritability and Mortality Risk of Insomnia-Related Symptoms: A Genetic Epidemiologic Study in a Population-Based Twin Cohort. Sleep. 2011 Jul;34(7):957-64. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.1136
  • 37 Mok A, Khaw K-T, Luben R, Wareham N, Brage S. Physical activity trajectories and mortality: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2019 Jun;365. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l2323