Mental and Physical Health and Hygienic, Nutritional and Daily Habits during Quarantine in COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The Argentinian government adopted a preventive social isolation and lockdown strategy as an exceptional measure in this critical world context. This lockdown strategy has kept a large number of people in isolation and affected many aspects of people’s lives. Objective: To describe the physical and mental health status and possible changes in hygienic, nutritional and, daily habits during quarantine in the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Method: An online anonymous survey was sent to the general population of Buenos Aires city, 434 people answered the questionnaire. Results: Fifty-one percent of respondents were between 40 and 70 years old. Most respondents were female (75.8%) and had higher education (62.2%). Thirty point eight percent had a pre-existing disease and in 50.7% of these cases, the usual symptoms experienced by respondents remained unchanged. The onsets of anxiety (38.2%), depression symptoms (27.9%), sleep disorders (20.5%), and irritability (27.2%) were reported during the isolation period. Also, changes in eating habits (55.5%) were reported. Significant improvement was reported in personal hygiene (80.2%) and home cleaning (81.3%) habits. It was also observed that despite the isolation some people continued doing physical activity. Conclusions: Respondents did not report significant changes in the symptoms of their preexisting diseases and had a positive mindset towards personal hygiene and home cleaning. Also, reported continuity in physical activity during isolation. However, the onset of psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, irritability and sleep problems, and, changes in eating habits were observed during the quarantine.