Effects of Lifestyle Changes on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers with Different Sense of Coherence Levels in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic.

Kento Tanaka,Masatoshi Tahara,Kayoko Takahashi,Yuki Mashizume

doi:10.3390/ijerph18062801

Abstract

Sense of coherence (SOC) is a psychological factor that contributes to mental health maintenance under stressful environment. Likewise, level of SOC might affect mental health among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic differently. In this study, we investigated the relationships between lifestyle changes and mental health (General Health Questionnaire-12: GHQ-12) among different level of SOC (weak, moderate, or strong by SOC-13). The data of 898 healthcare workers from cross-sectional survey dataset were extracted and analyzed. As results, based on GHQ-12 score, 86.1% of 244 participants with weak SOC, 60.1% of 606 participants with moderate SOC, and 31.3% of 48 participants with strong SOC had poor mental health. Both SOC levels and lifestyle changes (except alcohol consumption) had significant main effects on the GHQ-12 score. Analysis on the association between lifestyle changes and mental health status stratified by SOC level reveled that among participants with weak SOC, those who increased their leisure and activity time had reduced odds of poor mental health than those who made no changes (OR: 0.08, CI: 0.01 to 0.64). Healthcare workers with weak SOC were at risk of poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and lifestyle changes may improve their mental health.

Highlights

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant impacts on daily living
The data for 898 healthcare workers were collected from the database. 31 people were excluded from the study since their occupation could not be defined to be related to healthcare field
We found that mental health status differed across Sense of coherence (SOC) levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and revealed that the majority of individuals with weak SOC

Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant impacts on daily living. In addition to a fear of infection, mental health issues have arisen. Studies have shown that healthcare workers on the front line had increased mental health issues [1]. Tahara et al, [2] reported that healthcare workers who were not on the front line had higher rate of severe mental health compared to general population even though their work have not changed. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous lifestyle changes. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare announced a “new lifestyle” for people to practice in their daily lives to prevent infections [3]. Lifestyle changes caused by environmental factors can negatively affect mental health [6,7]

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Discussion

Conclusion