J Korean Med Sci.  2022 Apr;37(15):e118. 10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e118.

Perceived Physical and Mental Health and Healthy Eating Habits During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea

• Tuakli-Wosornu YA
• Pandiyan U
• Stratton C
• Hwang Y
• Hajjioui A
• Muñoz-Velasco LP
• Fourtassi M
• Cooper R
• Balikuddembe JK
• Peterson M
• Krassioukov A
• Palomba A
• Tripathi DR
• Hong BY

• KMID: 2528175
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e118

Abstract

Background
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the lives of people around the world since 2020. This study aims to reveal perceived impact of the coronavirus pandemic on physical and mental health and eating behaviors among people with disabilities and without disabilities in South Korea, as compared to other countries.
Methods
A secondary analysis of a prospective cross-sectional study which was conducted with a web-based global survey.
Results
Among the 3,550 responses from 65 countries, 2,621 responses with nation information were set as full data, 189 for South Korea and 2,432 for other countries. In Korea, there was no significant difference in healthy lifestyle behaviors between people with and without disabilities before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived physical and mental health and changes in eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no significant difference between people with and without disabilities in Korea. There were significant differences in physical health and dietary habits, but no differences in its effect on mental health between people living in Korea and other countries in both people with and without disabilities groups. In other words, more than 60% of people in all groups (disability vs. non-disability, Korea vs. non-Korea) reported worse mental health than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
In Korea and other countries, mental health showed a tendency to deteriorate regardless of the presence or absence of disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of healthy eating habits, Koreans were relatively less affected than people from other countries.

Keyword

COVID-19; People with Disabilities; Healthy Lifestyles; Lack of Physical Activity; Mental Health

Reference

1. Pears M, Kola-Palmer S, De Azevedo LB. The impact of sitting time and physical activity on mental health during COVID-19 lockdown. Sport Sci Health. 2022; 18:179–191.

2. Pancani L, Marinucci M, Aureli N, Riva P. Forced social isolation and mental health: a study on 1,006 Italians under COVID-19 lockdown. Front Psychol. 2021; 12:663799. PMID: 34093358.

3. Lee EPX, Man REK, Gan TLA, Fenwick EK, Aravindhan A, Ho KC, et al. The longitudinal psychological, physical activity, and financial impact of a COVID-19 lockdown on older adults in Singapore: the PIONEER-COVID population-based study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. Forthcoming. 2021; DOI: 10.1002/gps.5645.

4. Abate Daga F, Agostino S, Peretti S, Beratto L. The impact of physical activity rate on subjective well-being among North-Western Italian population during COVID-19 nationwide lockdown. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. Forthcoming. 2021; DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.21.12787-2.

5. Hwang TJ, Rabheru K, Peisah C, Reichman W, Ikeda M. Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int Psychogeriatr. 2020; 32(10):1217–1220. PMID: 32450943.

6. Hu Z, Lin X, Chiwanda Kaminga A, Xu H. Impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on lifestyle behaviors and their association with subjective well-being among the general population in Mainland China: cross-sectional study. J Med Internet Res. 2020; 22(8):e21176. PMID: 32759103.

7. Kim SJ, Lee S, Han H, Jung J, Yang SJ, Shin Y. Parental mental health and children’s behaviors and media usage during COVID-19-related school closures. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(25):e184. PMID: 34184439.

8. Theis N, Campbell N, De Leeuw J, Owen M, Schenke KC. The effects of COVID-19 restrictions on physical activity and mental health of children and young adults with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Disabil Health J. 2021; 14(3):101064. PMID: 33549499.

9. Senjam SS. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on people living with visual disability. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2020; 68(7):1367–1370. PMID: 32587166.

10. Lund EM, Forber-Pratt AJ, Wilson C, Mona LR. The COVID-19 pandemic, stress, and trauma in the disability community: a call to action. Rehabil Psychol. 2020; 65(4):313–322. PMID: 33119381.

11. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. South Korea's Response to COVID-19. Silver Spring, MD, USA: U.S. Food & Drug Administration;2021.

12. Sridhar D. What the UK Can Learn from South Korea’s COVID Response. London, UK: The Guardian;2021.

13. Jang W, Kim B, Kim ES, Song KH, Moon SM, Lee MJ, et al. Are the current guidelines sufficient to establish infection control strategies for COVID-19 related issues in hospitals? J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(50):e343. PMID: 34962115.

14. Yun KW, Kim KM, Kim YK, Kim MS, Kwon H, Han MS, et al. Limited benefit of facility isolation and the rationale for home care in children with mild COVID-19. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(5):e45. PMID: 33527787.

15. Kim JM, Yoo JH, Cho HK, Hong ST. Analysis of PubMed and KoreaMed indexed Korean publications on COVID-19. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(49):e345. PMID: 34931501.

16. Lee H, Noh Y, Seo JY, Park SH, Kim MH, Won S. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescent students in Daegu, Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(46):e321. PMID: 34845877.

17. Ko M, Cho HM, Park J, Chi S, Han C, Yi HS, et al. Impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic on mental health among local residents in Korea: a cross sectional study. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(46):e322. PMID: 34845878.

18. Kim DM, Bang YR, Kim JH, Park JH. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and associated factors among the general public during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(29):e214. PMID: 34313037.

19. Jang OJ, Chung YI, Lee JW, Kim HC, Seo JS. Emotional distress of the COVID-19 cluster infection on health care workers working at a national hospital in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(47):e324. PMID: 34873887.

20. Lee HA, Ahn MH, Byun S, Lee HK, Kweon YS, Chung S, et al. How COVID-19 affected healthcare workers in the hospital locked down due to early COVID-19 cases in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2021; 36(47):e325. PMID: 34873888.

21. 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; 12(6):1583.

22. WHO Regional Office for Europe. Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Copenhagen, Denmark: WHO Regional Office for Europe;2022.

23. Jang J. Changes in consumption patterns due to COVID-19. KISDI Perspect. 2021; 2(1):1–12.

24. Baek MK, Kim YS, Kim EY, Kim AJ, Choi WJ. Health-related quality of life in Korean adults with hearing impairment: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010 to 2012. PLoS One. 2016; 11(10):e0163999. PMID: 27711203.

25. Kim SJ, Kang KA. Meaning of life for adolescents with a physical disability in Korea. J Adv Nurs. 2003; 43(2):145–155. PMID: 12834372.

26. Lee K, So WY. Differences in the levels of physical activity, mental health, and quality of life of elderly Koreans with activity-limiting disabilities. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019; 16(15):2736.

27. Lee Y, Hong I, Lee MJ, Park HY. Identifying risk of depressive symptoms in adults with physical disabilities receiving rehabilitation services: propensity score approaches. Ann Rehabil Med. 2019; 43(3):250–261. PMID: 31311246.

28. Lee JS, Kim SW, Jee SH, Kim JC, Choi JB, Cho SY, et al. Factors affecting quality of life among spinal cord injury patients in Korea. Int Neurourol J. 2016; 20(4):316–320. PMID: 28043106.