scholarly journals COVID-19 Lockdown and Lifestyles – A Narrative Review

Author(s):  
Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy ◽  
Sohaila Cheema ◽  
Ahmad Al Mulla ◽  
Ravinder Mamtani

Background: The primary objective worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic has been controlling disease transmission. However, lockdown measures used to mitigate transmission have affected human behavior and altered lifestyles, with a likely impact on chronic non-communicable diseases. More than a year into the pandemic, substantial peer-reviewed literature has emerged on altered lifestyles following the varying lockdown measures imposed globally to control the virus spread. Objective: To explore the impact of lockdown measures on the six lifestyle factors, namely diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, social connectedness, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, or other harmful substances.Methods: We comprehensively searched PubMed and the World Health Organization’s global literature database on COVID-19 and retrieved 649 relevant articles for the narrative review. A critical interpretative synthesis of the articles was performed.Results: Most of the articles included in the review identified the negative effect of lockdown measures on each of the lifestyle factors in many parts of the world. Interestingly, encouraging lifestyle trends were also highlighted in a few articles. Such trends can positively influence the outcome of lifestyle-related chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes.Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to better understand the negative impact of strict lockdown measures on lifestyles. At the same time, it helps us identify and initiate positive behavioral changes, which, if consolidated, could improve chronic disease outcomes. It is up to governments, communities, and healthcare/academic entities to derive benefit from lessons learned from the pandemic, with the ultimate objective of better educating and promoting healthy lifestyles among communities.

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 363
Author(s):  
Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy ◽  
Sohaila Cheema ◽  
Ahmad Al Mulla ◽  
Ravinder Mamtani

Background: The primary objective worldwide during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been controlling disease transmission. However, lockdown measures used to mitigate transmission have affected human behavior and altered lifestyles, with a likely impact on chronic non-communicable diseases. More than a year into the pandemic, substantial peer-reviewed literature has emerged on altered lifestyles following the varying lockdown measures imposed globally to control the virus spread. We explored the impact of lockdown measures on six lifestyle factors, namely diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, social connectedness, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, or other harmful substances. Methods: We comprehensively searched PubMed and the World Health Organization’s global literature database on COVID-19 and retrieved 649 relevant articles for the narrative review. A critical interpretative synthesis of the articles was performed. Results: Most of the articles included in the review identified the negative effect of lockdown measures on each of the lifestyle factors in many parts of the world. Encouraging lifestyle trends were also highlighted in a few articles. Such trends can positively influence the outcome of lifestyle-related chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to better understand the negative impact of strict lockdown measures on lifestyles. At the same time, it helps us identify and initiate positive behavioral changes, which, if consolidated, could improve chronic disease outcomes. It is up to governments, communities, and healthcare/academic entities to derive benefit from lessons learned from the pandemic, with the ultimate objective of better educating and promoting healthy lifestyles among communities.


Author(s):  
Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy ◽  
Sohaila Cheema ◽  
Ahmad Al Mulla ◽  
Ravinder Mamtani

Background: While controlling the COVID-19 pandemic has been the primary objective worldwide, its effect on human behavior, altered lifestyles, and in turn, the impact on chronic non-communicable diseases cannot be ignored. Ten months into the pandemic, much-published literature has emerged on altered lifestyles following the lockdown measures imposed by governments all over the world to control the virus spread. Objective: In this narrative review, we explore the impact of lockdown measures on the six lifestyle factors – namely, diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, social connectedness, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, or other harmful substances. Methods: We searched PubMed and the World Health Organization’s global literature database on COVID-19 and included 298 articles. Using a meta-ethnographic approach, we provide an interpretative synthesis of relevant articles. Results: Among the six lifestyle factors, most of the retrieved articles focused on stress, emotional well-being, and physical activity. Fewer articles discussed alterations in dietary habits, sleep patterns, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other harmful substances. Most of the articles included in our review identified the negative effect of lockdown measures on each of the lifestyle factors in many parts of the world. Interestingly, encouraging lifestyle trends were also highlighted in a small number of articles included in our review. Such trends can positively influence the outcome of lifestyle-related chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Conclusions: These unprecedented circumstances provide an opportunity to better understand the negative impact of strict lockdown measures on lifestyles, and at the same time, help identify and initiate positive behavioral changes, which if consolidated, may improve chronic disease outcomes in the long run. It would be up to governments, communities, and academia to learn - and benefit from lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic - with the ultimate objective of better educating and promoting healthy lifestyles among communities.


Author(s):  
Saifullahi Adam Bayero ◽  
Babangida Danladi Safiyanu ◽  
Zaitun Sanusi Bakabe

Corona virus disease (COVID-19) which was declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic caused serious economic problem to all the countries including Sub-Saharan Africa. Given the negative impact of COVID19 on the world economy, this paper examined the impact of COVID19 related cases and death on stock exchange markets volatility in Sub-Saharan African countries. The study used the number of reported cases and death from four Sub-Saharan African countries viz Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Botswana, reported cases and death from China and U.S. and all share index as a proxy of stock markets in four countries from 28 February 2020 to 21 December 2020. The study estimated GARCH 11, TGARCH 11, and EGARCH 11 since the variables are heteroskadestic in nature which makes the application of ARCH lausible; the selection criterion was based on Akaike, Schwarz, and Hannan info Criteria. The result shows that COVID19 confirmed cases and death do not affect the operation of the stock markets in Sub-Saharan African countries, but the volatility of the markets has increased within the period of analysis. Furthermore, Botswana and Kenya stock markets were affected by external cases from China. We therefore recommended that stock markets stakeholders in Sub-Saharan Africa should be more concern about health safety measures and be ready for any future pandemic that might affect the markets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-166
Author(s):  
Sunil Nepal ◽  
Sudip Nepal ◽  
Chakrakodi S. Shastry ◽  
Sharad Chand ◽  
U.P. Nandakumar ◽  
...  

Background: The novel coronavirus disease outbreak of 2019 was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. At present, the virus has spread throughout the world, leading to millions of cases and is further increasing. Objective: The main objective of this study is to review the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the mental health of frontline workers, isolated and quarantined people and the general population. Methods: The relevant articles were extracted from PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect database by using the keywords “Mental health”, “COVID-19”, “Impact of COVID-19”, “Frontline workers”, “Quarantine”, “Isolation”, “Immunity” and “Economy”. The retrieved articles were included in the study based on inclusion criteria to perform the review. All the selected scientific articles were critically reviewed and the information is summarized in this narrative review. Results: The majority of the studies stated that frontline health workers were at an increased risk of depression. The infected, suspects and quarantined people were reported with high stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts. The pandemic has devastated the world’s economy, which has severely impacted global mental health. Conclusion: Mental health should be taken into account, and necessary interventional initiatives need to be considered both by the health authorities and the government to minimize the adversity of the consequences. The pandemic may disappear with the discovery of new vaccines or medications, but its negative impact on mental health may persist, particularly among vulnerable populations. Thus, mental health must be a matter of concern in the present scenario.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 4124
Author(s):  
Kang-Hyun Park ◽  
Ah-Ram Kim ◽  
Min-Ah Yang ◽  
Ji-Hyuk Park

Background: The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, due to the number of newly reported confirmed cases and the rapid increase in deaths. Therefore, countries around the world limited their population to policies such as “social distancing” or “staying at home” to prevent the spread of the virus. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in lifestyle pre and post the outbreak COVID-19 among older adults in South Korea and to identify the impact of lifestyle differences on depression and quality of life. Methods: An online single questionnaire covering sociodemographic data, lifestyle details, depression status, and quality of life level was distributed using mailing lists and social media. To assess lifestyles differences in older people pre and post the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the online single questionnaire was used post COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the participants’ memories, they responded lifestyles at two time points (pre and post COVID-19 pandemic). Results: The results showed that there was a significant decrease in physical activity and activity participation during the pandemic. In terms of nutrition, there was no statistically significant change pre and post the outbreak COVID-19, except for the intake of protein, fat, and vitamins. Additionally, the results showed that the resulting lifestyle differences seem to have had a negative impact on depression and quality of life among older adults in South Korea. Conclusion: There was a significant difference the lifestyle patterns among the participants in South Korea between the current period and pre COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it is observed that these differenced lifestyles were associated with depression and quality of life among the participants. Our findings may help to develop public health programs that support healthy lifestyles in pandemic conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 285
Author(s):  
Stefano Cesco ◽  
Vincenzo Zara ◽  
Alberto F. De Toni ◽  
Paolo Lugli ◽  
Giovanni Betta ◽  
...  

In the last year a new virus (SARS‑CoV‑2) and the disease caused by it (COVID-19) has quickly spread around the world, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency and, then, a global pandemic status. The strategies adopted by many countries to reduce the impact of the pandemic were mainly based on social distancing rules and on stay-at-home measures or lockdowns. These strategies had severe disruptive consequences on many sectors, including all levels of education. While the “traditional” (face-to-face) Higher Education (HE) system was unprepared for the lockdown (e.g., no plans for a massive shift to online teaching were available/ready), it reacted in an extremely quick and effective way, replacing face-to-face teaching with online teaching. While COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for education, the experience has undoubtedly provided positive inputs for the digitalization of the HE system. The question is however, if whether after the COVID-19 emergency everything will go back to the previous situation or instead if the pandemic has irreversibly changed HE. While we are still in the middle of the crisis, it is in our view beneficial to start to reflect on the challenges and open issues that emerged during this period and the lessons learned for the “new normal” (as it is often referred to). In this conceptual paper we seek to start this discussion by focusing on the following relevant aspects that should be considered to succeed in the digital transformation: broadband network infrastructure and hardware devices; e-learning software; organization of teaching activities; pedagogical issues; diversity and inclusivity; and a number of other issues. We conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic will irreversibly change HE and probably for the better.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 878-887
Author(s):  
Brijesh Sathian ◽  
Mohammad Asim ◽  
Indrajit Banerjee ◽  
Ana Beatriz Pizarro ◽  
Bedanta Roy ◽  
...  

Background: The World Health Organization has reported more than 31,186,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), including 962,343 deaths, worldwide as on September 21, 2020. The current COVID-19 pandemic is affecting clinical research activities in most parts of the world. The focus on developing  a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and the treatment of COVID-19 is, in fact, disrupting many upcoming and/or ongoing clinical trials on other diseases around the globe. On March 18, 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an updated guideline for the conduct of clinical trials during the current health emergency situation. The potential challenges, such as social distancing and quarantines, result in study participants’ inaccessibility and trial personnel for in-person scheduled study visits and/or follow-up. Due to the sudden onset and wide-spread impact of COVID-19, its influence on the management of clinical trials and research necessitates urgent attention. Therefore, our systematic review of the literature aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the conduction of clinical trials and research. The search for the relevant articles for review included the keywords "COVID-19” AND "clinical trial" in PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Google scholar and Google electronic databases. Key findings include: delaying subject enrollment and operational gaps in most ongoing clinical trials, which in turn has a negative impact on trial programmes and data integrity. Globally, most sites conducting clinical trials other than COVID-19 are experiencing a delay in timelines and a complete halt of operations in lieu of this pandemic, thus affecting clinical research outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S165-S170
Author(s):  
Fathima Fazrina Farook ◽  
Mohamed Nizam Mohamed Nuzaim ◽  
Khansa Taha Ababneh ◽  
Abdulsalam Alshammari ◽  
Lubna Alkadi

AbstractThe aim of this article is to shed light on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its oral effects and risk of nosocomial transmission to update the knowledge of dental health care workers. A thorough literature search of the PubMed/Embase/Web of Science/Cochrane central database was conducted to identify the impact of COVID-19 on oral health. We reviewed the recommendations on the recent guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention infection control practices for dentistry, American Dental Association, and the World Health Organization. According to the available evidence, COVID-19 may have a negative impact on the oral health due to the infection itself and due to various other consequences such as therapeutic measures, xerostomia, and other complications of the COVID-19. In light of the above facts, dentists should be wary of the disease, its identification, mode of spread and impacts on the oral health. The dental personnel have been identified as at the highest risk of getting COVID-19 due to cross infection from contact with their patients and aerosols generated in routine dental procedures. As such, they should be aware of the modifications that need to be made to the practice to prevent transmission of the disease. It is evident that COVID-19 has a negative impact on the oral health and at the same time a significant transmission risk to the dental personnel and patients who visit the clinic. If the recommendations issued by the regulatory authorities are meticulously followed, the risk of disease transmission can be lessened.


2020 ◽  
pp. 276-289
Author(s):  
Mobina Fathi ◽  
Kimia Vakili ◽  
Niloofar Deravi

Around the end of December 2019, a new beta-coronavirus from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China began to spread rapidly. The new virus, called SARS-CoV-2, which could be transmitted through respiratory droplets, had a range of mild to severe symptoms, from simple cold in some cases to death in others. The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was named COVID-19 by WHO and has so far killed more people than SARS and MERS. Following the widespread global outbreak of COVID-19, with more than 132758 confirmed cases and 4955 deaths worldwide, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic disease in January 2020. Earlier studies on viral pneumonia epidemics has shown that pregnant women are at greater risk than others. During pregnancy, the pregnant woman is more prone to infectious diseases. Research on both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which are pathologically similar to SARS-CoV-2, has shown that being infected with these viruses during pregnancy increases the risk of maternal death, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation and, preterm delivery. With the exponential increase in cases of COVID-19 throughout the world, there is a need to understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the health of pregnant women, through extrapolation of earlier studies that have been conducted on pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. There is an urgent need to understand the chance of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to fetus and the possibility of the virus crossing the placental barrier. Additionally, since some viral diseases and antiviral drugs may have a negative impact on the mother and fetus, in which case, pregnant women need special attention for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Pooja Sharma ◽  
Karan Veer

: It was 11 March 2020 when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the name COVID-19 for coronavirus disease and also described it as a pandemic. Till that day 118,000 cases were confirmed of pneumonia with breathing problem throughout the world. At the start of New Year when COVID-19 came into knowledge a few days later, the gene sequencing of the virus was revealed. Today the number of confirmed cases is scary, i.e. 9,472,473 in the whole world and 484,236 deaths have been recorded by WHO till 26 June 2020. WHO's global risk assessment is very high [1]. The report is enlightening the lessons learned by India from the highly affected countries.


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