Health Behaviours Of People Research Articles

Changes in diabetes care and management practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We examined changes in diabetes care and management practices before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Population-based data regarding four diabetes-related healthcare engagement and four self-management indicators were obtained from adults with diabetes surveyed in 19 US States and Washington DC through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Using logistic regression, we estimated changes in the prevalence of each indicator, overall and by sociodemographic subgroups in 2019 (before the pandemic) and 2021 (during the pandemic). Between 2019 and 2021, the prevalence of biannual HbA1c tests reduced by 2.6 percentage points (pp; 95% confidence interval: -4.8, -0.4), from 75.4% to 73.1%, and prevalence of annual eye exams fell by 4.0pp (-6.2, -2.8), from 72.2% to 68.7%. The composite indicator of engagement with healthcare for diabetes control fell by 3.5pp (-5.9, -1.1), from 44.9% to 41.9%. Of self-management behaviors, avoidance of smoking increased by 2.0pp (0.4, 3.6) from 84.7% to 87.1%. The findings suggest a deterioration of the uptake of evidence-based, preventive health services requiring laboratory services and clinical examination for diabetes control during the pandemic. On the other hand, smoking rates decreased, suggesting potential positive impacts of the pandemic on health behaviors in people with diabetes.

Electronic nudge letters to increase influenza vaccination uptake in younger and middle-aged individuals with diabetes: a prespecified analysis of the NUDGE-FLU-CHRONIC trial

Abstract Background Despite evidence demonstrating that influenza vaccination is associated with reduced risk of adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, influenza vaccine uptake remains suboptimal in persons with diabetes mellitus (DM). Purpose In this prespecified analysis of the NUDGE-FLU-CHRONIC trial we assessed the effectiveness of electronically delivered nudges on influenza vaccine uptake according to DM status. Methods NUDGE-FLU-CHRONIC was a nationwide, randomized, pragmatic implementation trial among younger and middle-aged (18-64 years) Danish citizens with chronic disease during the 2023/2024 influenza season. All trial participants were eligible for a free influenza vaccination through the Danish governmental vaccine program. Participants were randomized in a 2.45:1:1:1:1:1:1 ratio to usual care (no electronic letter) or one of 6 different electronic nudge letters delivered on Sep 26, 2023. Baseline and outcome data were obtained using the Danish nationwide registries. The endpoint was receipt of a seasonal influenza vaccine on or before Jan 1, 2024. Results Of 299,881 NUDGE-FLU-CHRONIC participants, 57,666 (19.2%) had DM at baseline. Participants with DM had a median age of 51.6 years, 43.0% were female, median Hba1c of 53 mmol/mol, median DM duration of 10.0 years, and 51.2% were insulin dependent. During follow-up, 43.0% of those with DM vs. 34.6% of those without DM received the seasonal influenza vaccine (p<0.001). Any electronic letter vs. usual care was highly effective in increasing vaccine uptake in participants with DM at baseline (45.6% vs. 36.5%, difference: +9.1 percentage points [99.29%CI: 7.9-10.3], relative risk ratio [RR]: 1.42, 99.29%CI: [1.39-1.44]). However, DM status modified the effect of any electronic letter such that participants without DM at baseline experienced a slightly greater effect than those with DM (37.3% vs. 25.9%, difference: +12.3 percentage points [11.7-12.8], RR: 1.47 [1.45-1.50]; p-interaction <0.001). For each individual electronic nudge letter, the effect of the intervention was slightly lower in participants with DM compared to those without (Figure 1; all p-interaction < 0.015). When assessing DM subgroups, the effect of any electronic letter vs. usual care was greater in participants with DM and concomitant cardiovascular disease than in those without, greater in non-insulin treated than in insulin-treated individuals, and greater in those with shorter diabetes duration. Effectiveness of nudges were consistent across all other DM subgroups including HbA1c level (Figure 2). Conclusions Electronic nudge letters significantly boosted vaccine uptake in a broad range of individuals with DM, but the effect was slightly lower compared to those without DM. Future studies should test whether behaviorally designed nudges may positively influence other health behaviors in people with diabetes.

Why Are Young People Willing to Pay for Health? Chained Mediation Effect of Negative Emotions and Information Seeking on Health Risk Perception and Health Consumption Behavior.

The perception of health risks can influence people's health behaviors. However, in the context of modern consumer society, few people delve into in-depth discussions on health consumption as a form of health protection behavior. Inspired by the Health Belief Model and Protection Motivation Theory, this study interprets health consumption behavior as a new form of health protection behavior. A survey was conducted on a sample of Chinese youth (N = 885) to explore the mechanisms of action between health risk perception and health consumption behavior using structural equation modeling. The study found that: (1) health risk perception has a significant positive impact on the health consumption behavior of young people; (2) negative emotions and information seeking play mediating roles respectively in the mechanism of the impact of health risk perception on health consumption behavior; and (3) in addition to their individual mediating roles, negative emotions and information seeking behavior collectively play a chained mediation role in this process. Implications of these results, both theoretical and practical, are further discussed.

Psychological distress and health behaviours in people living with and beyond cancer: a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to examine whether psychological distress was cross-sectionally associated with meeting World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recommendations in people living with and beyond cancer. Participants were adults living with and beyond breast, prostate and colorectal cancer, participating in the baseline wave of the Advancing Survivorship after Cancer Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). Anxiety/depression was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L and dichotomised into any/no problems. WCRF recommendations were assessed via pedometers, 24-h dietary recalls, self-reported alcohol intake (AUDIT-C), and self-reported smoking status. Participants were categorised as meeting WCRF recommendations using the following cut-offs: average daily steps (≥ 10,000/day), average weekly aerobic steps (≥ 15,000/day), fruit and vegetables (≥ 400 g/day), fibre (≥ 30 g/day), red meat (< 500 g/week), processed meat (0 g/day), high calorie food (fat ≤ 33% of total daily energy intake and free sugar ≤ 5% of total daily energy intake), alcohol (≤ 14 units/week) and smoking (non-smoking). A composite health behaviour risk index (CHBRI) was calculated by summing the number of WCRF recommendations met (range: 0–9). Among 1348 participants (mean age = 64 years (SD = 11.4)), 41.5% reported anxiety/depression problems. The mean CHBRI score was 4.4 (SD = 1.4). Anxiety/depression problems were associated with lower odds of meeting WCRF recommendations for average daily steps (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73; 95% CI 0.55, 0.97), but not for any other health behaviour. Psychological distress is associated with lower adherence to WCRF recommendations for physical activity in people living with and beyond cancer. Physical activity may be a mechanism linking psychological distress and poorer outcomes among people living with and beyond cancer, and this should be explored in longitudinal studies.

Polarization and health-related behaviours and outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review protocol.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected people's health behaviours and health outcomes. Political or affective polarization could be associated with health behaviours such as mask-wearing or vaccine uptake and with health outcomes, e.g., infection or mortality rate. Political polarization relates to divergence or spread of ideological beliefs and affective polarization is about dislike between people of different political groups, such as ideologies or parties. The objectives of this study are to investigate and synthesize evidence about associations between both forms of polarization and COVID-19 health behaviours and outcomes. In this systematic review, we will include quantitative studies that assess the relationship between political or affective polarization and COVID-19-related behaviours and outcomes, including adherence to mask mandates, vaccine uptake, infection and mortality rate. We will use a predetermined strategy to search EMBASE, Medline (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, Global Health (Ovid), PsycInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, CINAHL, EconLit (EBSCOhost), WHO COVID-19 Database, iSearch COVID-19 Portfolio (NIH) and Google Scholar from 2019 to September 8 2023. One reviewer will screen unique records according to eligibility criteria. A second reviewer will verify the selection. Data extraction, using pre-piloted electronic forms, will follow a similar process. The risk of bias of the included studies will be assessed using the JBI checklist for analytical cross sectional studies. We will summarise the included studies descriptively and examine the heterogeneity between studies. Quantitative data pooling might not be feasible due to variations in measurement methods used to evaluate exposure, affective and political polarization. If there are enough relevant studies for statistical data synthesis, we will conduct a meta-analysis. This review will help to better understand the concept of polarization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and might inform decision making for future pandemics. PROSPERO ID: CRD42023475828.

Measuring the Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Health Behavior of Rural Population in China

Objectives: This research was conducted to determine the impact of certain socio-economic factors like occupational hazards, high income, educational attainment, living environment, family and social relationships and insurance status on the health behaviour of people living in rural areas of China. This research addressed the gap in the body of knowledge as it steadily examined the health-related behaviour approach in rural China. Methods: The data for this research was collected from 283 respondents, and Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS-21) was used to analyze data. Results: The findings of this study reported that occupational hazards, high income, living environment, and insurance status are highly correlated to people's health behaviour. However, the study found educational attainment and family and social relationships have no relations with people's health behavior in China. Conclusion: The findings of this study have theoretical as well as practical importance for policy implications. The Chinese government must work to provide better health-related facilities to the people to improve their health behaviour.

Media Representation and Digital Engagement: Analyzing @IndonesianMedicalCenter's Impact on Public Health Communication

The development of information technology, especially social media, has changed the landscape of public health communication significantly. One platform that is increasingly popular in disseminating health information is Instagram, with various health accounts that actively present informative content. One prominent account is @IndonesianMedicalCenter (IMC), which has become a trusted source of health information for the Indonesian people. However, there has been no research that specifically examines the impact of these accounts on public health communication. This research aims to analyze the impact of the Instagram account @IndonesianMedicalCenter on public health communication. Through this analysis, it is hoped to better understand how media representation and digital engagement from these accounts influence people's health knowledge, attitudes and behavior The analytical tool used in this research is NVivo. This research uses a qualitative approach with content analysis techniques. Data is collected from posts published by the @IndonesianMedicalCenter account during a certain period. These posts are analyzed to identify the main themes presented, the communication style used, and the interactions between the account and its followers. The analysis results show that the Instagram account @IndonesianMedicalCenter actively disseminates health information that is accurate, relevant and easy to understand. The posts cover a variety of health topics, from disease prevention to promoting healthy lifestyles. Apart from that, this account also plays a role in building an online community that is active in discussing and exchanging information about health. Thus, the @IndonesianMedicalCenter account has a positive impact in increasing health literacy and public health awareness.

The Opportunities and Challenges Brought by COVID-19 to China's Tourism Industry

From the end of 2019 to the first half of 2023, the world is experiencing a coronavirus pandemic. During this period, the world's tourism industry has been greatly impacted and faced with many challenges. COVID-19 has not only affected the national economy but also affected people's mental health and Consumer behavior. The research on their behavior helps to analyze the current situation of the tourism industry and the development trend of the tourism industry after the pandemic. This article uses the research method of literature review. This paper conducts research from these aspects: the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the tourism industry, especially changes in people's consumption behavior, and future development. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on travel businesses, and other sectors within the travel industry, and has also spurred the development of emerging areas. The COVID-19 epidemic has had a great impact on all branches of the tourism industry, including but not limited to travel companies, the transportation industry and cloud tourism, etc. Through government support, the awakening and improvement of the tourism industry itself, and grasping the trend of social development, actively develop emerging fields to improve the impact of the epidemic on the tourism industry in the past three years.

Changes in Health Behaviour Factors in Response to COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic caused profound changes in many aspects of people's lives, especially in the area of health behaviour. The restrictions caused by the pandemic have had negative effects on both the physical and mental health of society, while also transforming the way individuals exercise. The aim of our research was to analyse the changes in health behaviour of Hungarian adults, including their sporting habits as well as their mental health, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also focused on comparing the experiences of a population that regularly participates in sport and a population that rarely or never participates in sport. Results of the survey showed that individuals who regularly participate in sport activities rated their general physical health significantly better than those living a more sedentary life. More than half of the sample stated that they did not experience any particular change in their physical health, but the second highest percentage of respondents reported that their health had been affected negatively by the pandemic period. Results also showed that almost half of respondents said that their sporting habits had not changed as a result of the pandemic, while many reported that their sporting frequency had decreased. Finally, we also analysed the changes in sporting habits with regard to the place of residence, finding that those individuals living in an apartment complex building were most likely to choose a different type of exercise from the one they had previously practised, while a higher proportion of individuals living in a suburban area, or with access to garden reported that they had started to doing sports.Our research provided partial confirmation that the pandemic had a negative effect on people's health behaviour, but given the high levels of exercise in the target group,it is not surprising that many did not experience any change in sporting habits or physical health. JEL Code: I12

Mechanisms of school-based peer education interventions to improve young people's health literacy or health behaviours: A realist-informed systematic review.

Peer education interventions are widely used in secondary schools with an aim to improve students' health literacy and/or health behaviours. Although peer education is a popular intervention technique with some evidence of effectiveness, we know relatively little about the key components that lead to health improvements among young people, or components that may be less helpful. This review aims to identify the main mechanisms involved in school-based peer education health interventions for 11-18-year-olds. Five electronic databases were searched for eligible studies during October 2020, an updated search was then conducted in January 2023 to incorporate any new studies published between November 2020 and January 2023. To be included in the review, studies must have evaluated a school-based peer education intervention designed to address aspects of the health of students aged 11-18 years old and contain data relevant to mechanisms of effect of these interventions. No restrictions were placed on publication date, or country but only manuscripts available in English language were included. Forty papers were identified for inclusion with a total of 116 references to intervention mechanisms which were subsequently grouped thematically into 10 key mechanisms. The four most common mechanisms discussed were: 1) Peerness; similar, relatable and credible 2) A balance between autonomy and support, 3) School values and broader change in school culture; and 4) Informal, innovative and personalised delivery methods. Mechanisms were identified in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods intervention evaluations. This study highlights a number of key mechanisms that can be used to inform development of future school-based peer education health interventions to maximise effectiveness. Future studies should aim to create theories of change or logic models, and then test the key mechanisms, rather than relying on untested theoretical assumptions. Future work should also examine whether particular mechanisms may lead to harm, and also whether certain mechanisms are more or less important to address different health issues, or whether a set of generic mechanisms always need to be activated for success.

Changes in Health Behaviour Factors in Response to COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic caused profound changes in many aspects of people's lives, especially in the area of health behaviour. The restrictions caused by the pandemic have had negative effects on both the physical and mental health of society, while also transforming the way individuals exercise. The aim of our research was to analyse the changes in health behaviour of Hungarian adults, including their sporting habits as well as their mental health, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also focused on comparing the experiences of a population that regularly participates in sport and a population that rarely or never participates in sport. Results of the survey showed that individuals who regularly participate in sport activities rated their general physical health significantly better than those living a more sedentary life. More than half of the sample stated that they did not experience any particular change in their physical health, but the second highest percentage of respondents reported that their health had been affected negatively by the pandemic period. Results also showed that almost half of respondents said that their sporting habits had not changed as a result of the pandemic, while many reported that their sporting frequency had decreased. Finally, we also analysed the changes in sporting habits with regard to the place of residence, finding that those individuals living in an apartment complex building were most likely to choose a different type of exercise from the one they had previously practised, while a higher proportion of individuals living in a suburban area, or with access to garden reported that they had started to doing sports.Our research provided partial confirmation that the pandemic had a negative effect on people's health behaviour, but given the high levels of exercise in the target group,it is not surprising that many did not experience any change in sporting habits or physical health. JEL Code: I12

Assessment of Preventive Behaviors of Head Lice Infestation Based on Health Belief Model in Female College Students

Background: People's health behaviors are important in determining the prevalence of the head lice infestation. This study aimed to determine the preventive behaviors of head lice infestation using the Health Belief Model (HBM) in female students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences.&#x0D; Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 255 female students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Fars Province, South of Iran in 2021. Sampling was randomly selected from female students studying in the fields of public health, operating room, anesthesia, nursing, laboratory sciences, and medicine. The data collection tool was a four-part standard “preventive behaviors against pediculosis infection” questionnaire whose validity and reliability have been confirmed. The questionnaire was completed by the participants and the data were entered into SPSS 21 for analysis. Data analysis was performed descriptively with the report of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The correlation was evaluated using Pearson correlation test. Significance level was considered less than 0.05.&#x0D; Results: The mean age and number of roommates (SD) of the participants were 22.4 (1.7) and 3.35 (1.3), respectively. There was a positive and significant correlation between the perceived benefits construct and knowledge (r = 0.147, p = 0.04) and the perceived susceptibility construct (r = 0.413, p &lt; 0.001). In addition, a positive and significant correlation was observed between the behavior with knowledge (r = 0.144, p = 0.04) and self-efficacy construct (r = 0.167, p = 0.02). There was a significant inverse correlation between perceived barriers construct with knowledge (r = -0.265, p &lt; 0.001) and behavior (r = -0.213, p = 0.002), as well as between self-efficacy construct and knowledge (r = -0.219, p = 0.001).&#x0D; Conclusion: To improve preventive behaviors of lice infestation in students, in addition to improving people's knowledge, efforts should be made to identify and remove barriers to healthy behavior as well as improve people's perception of these barriers.

Health behaviors of people with multiple sclerosis and its associations with MS related outcomes: a German clinical cohort.

Health behaviors in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) have been associated with MS-related disease outcomes. The aim of the study was to gain knowledge about current patient health behaviors in a convenience sample representative for pwMS presenting to a large university-based outpatient clinic and to investigate associations between modifiable risk factors with physical impairment, quality of life (QoL) and cardiovascular comorbidities. A questionnaire was administered at the MS Outpatient Clinic of the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf asking for health behaviors regarding dietary habits assessed with the German adaptation of the validated Spanish short Diet Quality Screener (sDQS), level of physical activity assessed with the Godin Leisure Time Questionnaire (GLTEQ) and tobacco smoking. Participants were asked to report cardiovascular comorbidities using items from the Self-Report Comorbidity Questionnaire for Multiple Sclerosis. Additionally, cardiovascular risk factors like blood pressure, height and weight (to calculate BMI) and waist circumference were measured. MS specific clinical data, e.g., disease course, duration, disability and MS-specific QoL were collected from the clinical database. Descriptive analyses were performed and multivariate regression analyses for complete cases were carried out for each of the three outcome variables including all mentioned modifiable risk factors (dietary behavior, smoking, physical activity and BMI) as independent variables. In this sample of 399 pwMS the mean age was 42 years (SD 12.8) with a mean disease duration since diagnosis of 7.4 years (SD 8.4) and a mean EDSS of 2.8 (SD 1.9). 24% were current smokers, 44% were insufficiently physically active and 54% did not follow a healthy dietary pattern. 49% of this relatively young clinical population was overweight and 27% reported one or more cardiovascular comorbidities. Most modifiable risk factors showed no convincing associations with MS-related disease outcomes in the multiple regression analyses. This clinical cohort of pwMS shows a high prevalence of critical health behaviors and comorbidities and emphasizes the need for monitoring, education and assistance for behavior change in this population.

Changes in Sales of Tobacco and Nicotine Replacement Therapy Products Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social distancing policies such as lockdowns and quarantine influenced people's lives and health behaviors. We comprehensively assessed national trends in sales of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products before and during the pandemic, allowing for cross-product comparisons. Stockpiling behavior was also assessed. We used US national tobacco and over-the-counter NRT retail store scanner data (excluding internet, specialty/vape store, and prescription sales) collected at 4-week intervals by NielsenIQ from December 2018 to June 2021. We applied an interrupted time-series model to assess differences in tobacco product and NRT unit sales before and during the pandemic. We defined the prepandemic period as December 16, 2018, through April 4, 2020, pandemic as starting on April 5, 2020, through June 26, 2021, and the stockpiling period as one 4-week period before the pandemic started. Four-week cigarette, e-cigarette, and cigar unit sales on average increased by 11.5% (P = .006), 37.1% (P < .001), and 26.1% (P < .001) respectively, while 4-week NRT unit sales decreased on average by 13.1% (P < .001), during the pandemic compared with the prepandemic period. Stockpiling was associated with increases in sales of all tobacco products and NRT products. Unit sales of assessed tobacco products increased while NRT unit sales decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the prepandemic period. These changes may suggest an increase in the intensity of tobacco product use or stockpiling of tobacco products among people who use tobacco.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Openness to Communication From Local Faith-Based Congregations During Public Health Emergencies.

During public health emergencies, people at risk of exposure or illness will likely be presented with extensive information about an unfamiliar topic and be asked to make decisions quickly. In difficult situations, people often turn to trusted leaders, including from their local faith-based congregation (FBC). We examined how people receive, interpret, and respond to health communication information from clergy and lay leaders from their local FBC during public health emergencies. We analyzed responses to 10 questions from a 2021 nationally representative US survey. Porter Novelli designed the survey and administered it to 4510 US adults aged ≥18 years, of whom 3553 people completed the survey. We examined sociodemographic characteristics, trust of health information from clergy and lay leaders, and willingness to engage in health behaviors recommended by their FBC and receive health services through their local FBC. All estimates were weighted. We conducted bivariate analysis with contrast t tests for proportions at α = .05. More than half of adults (55.4%), including 65.8% of non-Hispanic Black and 58.8% of Hispanic or Latino adults, were members of an FBC. Among FBC members, a higher percentage of Hispanic or Latino (29.1%) and non-Hispanic Black (36.3%) adults than non-Hispanic White adults (20.4%) reported trust in their FBC for health information (P < .05). This trust translated into greater intent to engage in health behaviors promoted by the local FBC among non-Hispanic Black respondents (31.4%) compared with non-Hispanic White respondents (22.5%) (P < .05). Public health officials can consider ways to better understand how the cultures and practices of populations being served influence people's health perceptions and behaviors. Collaboration between federal, state, and local public health officials and FBCs can promote health equity during public health emergencies.

COMPREHENDING THE CHARACTERISTICS AND EFFECTS OF THE HEALTH MISINFORMATION - A STUDY AMONG SOCIAL MEDIA USERS

Social media has become the most accessible and considered to be trustworthy media for accessing health related information with immediacy. This has led to the creation, development and spread of misinformation too. Prevalence of misinformation can be detrimental to the quality of life and sometimes may lead to even death and hence it becomes more essential to understand the complexities of dealing with such misinformation. Being aware of the menace of the situation, we also recognize the need to fight against misinformation. For this purpose, we need to focus on categorization of the main topics of health misinformation and an all-inclusive depiction of their pervasiveness on various social media, the influence it has on the minds and health behavior of people. Such a detailed analysis will enable us to develop future digital policy action plans towards misinformation. Against this background the objectives of the study are to identify the characteristics of health misinformation on social media; and the factors that influence the people’s belief and behavior towards health misinformation circulated online. A descriptive survey with convenience sampling technique among social media users will be applied for understanding how various people perceive and are susceptible to the problems of misinformation. Proper understanding of the features of health misinformation in the social media will facilitate us to focus on the measured ways to eradicate the fatal impact of misinformation. Our perceptions on the misinformation that prevails in the fields of health and emergency management will improve through the data gathered and presented in this study.

Dynamic Topic Modeling to Mine Themes and Evolution during the Initial COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Objective: In this paper, we identify the topics in the form of themes being discussed on Twitter about the COVID-19 vaccine during the period of initial rollout of the vaccines and their evolution every month with the scientific advancement and major events on the COVID-19 vaccine timeline. Methods: We collected tweets from Twitter API over a period of 3 months from December 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021 using the keyword, "COVID-19 vaccine: and implemented dynamic topic modeling to identify topics in the form of themes being discussed. We then visualized the evolution of these themes every month with the news events during that time. Results: We found that 8 themes were discussed on Twitter during the initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Within each theme, there were some unique key words found in a particular month or new key words that emerged from the previous month. These themes evolved with the trending news during that time period. Conclusions: Public discussions and health behavior of people about COVID-19 vaccines across different themes evolved over time. There was a dynamic and temporal shift in the perception of people regarding these vaccines coinciding with the scientific advancement and news events around the development, distribution, and administration of these vaccines.

The COVID-19 pandemic and temporal change in metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease: A natural experiment within the HELIUS study

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including the restrictive measures taken to reduce the spread of the virus, negatively affected people's health behavior. We explored whether the pandemic also had an effect on metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women and men. We conducted a natural experiment, using data from 6962 participants without CVD at baseline (2011–2015) of six ethnic groups of the HELIUS study in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We studied whether participants whose follow-up measurements were taken within the 11 months before the pandemic (control group) differed from those whose measurements were taken taken within 6 months after the first lockdown (exposed group). Using sex-stratified linear regressions with inverse probability weighting, we compared changes in baseline- and follow-up data between the control and exposed group in six metabolic risk factors: systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), total cholesterol (TC), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Next, we explored the mediating effect of changes in body-mass index (BMI), alcohol, smoking, depressive symptoms and negative life events at follow-up. We observed less favorable changes in SBP (+1.12mmHg for women, +1.38mmHg for men), DBP (+0.85mmHg, +0.80mmHg) and FPG (only in women, +0.12 mmol/L) over time in the exposed group relative to the control group. Conversely, changes in HbA1c (−0.65 mmol/mol, −0.84 mmol/mol) and eGFR (+1.06 mL/min, +1.04 mL/min) were more favorable in the exposed compared to the control group, respectively. Changes in SBP, DBP, and FPG were partially mediated by changes in behavioral factors, in particular BMI and alcohol consumption. Concluding, the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular behavioral changes associated with restrictive lockdown measures, may have negatively affected several CVD risk factors, in both women and men.

People's attitudes and health behavior based on their habits and experience versus scientific evidence

People's attitudes and health behavior based on their habits and experience versus scientific evidence

Online health communities influence people's health behaviors in the context of COVID-19.

The online health community has the functions of online consultation, health record management and disease information interaction as an online medical platform. In the context of the pandemic, the existence of online health communities has provided a favorable environment for information acquisition and knowledge sharing among different roles, effectively improving the health of human, and popularizing health knowledge. This paper analyzes the development and importance of domestic online health communities, and sorts out users' participation behaviors, types of behaviors, and continuous participation behaviors, influence motives, and motivational patterns in online health communities. Taking the operation status of the online health community during the pandemic period as an example, the computer sentiment analysis method was used to obtain seven categories of participation behaviors and the proportion of various behaviors of online health community users, and the conclusion is: the emergence of the pandemic, making the online health community a platform where people are more inclined to choose to consult health issues, and user interaction behaviors have become more active on the platform.