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Research Article
María Fernanda Vinueza Veloz
Escuela Superior Politécnica del Chimborazo
Corresponding Author
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Declarations:
Declarations
- This study involved human subjects.
- The author confirmed that all appropriate ethical guidelines for the use of human subjects have been followed, any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee review has been obtained, and information about the IRB/ethics committee is included in the manuscript.
- The author has confirmed that all necessary patient/participant consent or assent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. If the IRB/ethics committee waived the requirement for patient/participant consent or assent, an explanation for the waiver is included in the text.
- The author has confirmed that a statement listing potential conflicts of interest or lack thereof is included in the text.
Purpose: To explore the effects of mobility restriction on the mental health of Ecuadorian young adults.
Methods: The current is a cross-sectional study that included 8426 young adults. Socio-demographic and mental health data were collected through an online survey during May-June 2020 in Ecuador. Data on mobility was extracted from Google Mobility Reports. Four aspects of the participants’ mental health were evaluated: eating behavior (emotional eating), depression, sleep quality and sense of coherence using previously validated instruments. Data were analyzed using linear regression using R.
Results: Mean age of the participants was 22.85 (SD = 4.43), most of whom were women (n = 5943, 70.53%). During mandatory confinement, mobility due to retail and recreation, to groceries and pharmacies, to parks, to transit stations, to workplaces were reduced by nearly 50%. In contrast, mobility to places of residence increased by nearly 20%. Less healthy eating behavior was associated with lower mobility to retail/recreation, residential or workplaces. Depression was associated with lower mobility to residential and workplaces. Worse quality of sleep was associated with lower mobility to retail/recreation, residential and workplaces. Higher sense of coherence was associated with higher mobility to residential and to workplaces. Women and youngsters more often showed depression, less healthy eating behavior, worse quality of sleep and lower sense of coherence.
Conclusion: Mobility restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on people's mental health. Prevention and health promotion measures directed to ameliorate the effects of confinement on mental health should target risk populations including women and youngsters.
Keywords
COVID-19, mental health, mobility, depression, eating behavior, quality of sleep, sense of coherence, young adults, Ecuador
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No competing interests reported.
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This preprint is under consideration at Scientific Reports. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research Article
María Fernanda Vinueza Veloz
Escuela Superior Politécnica del Chimborazo
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 3
Posted 17 Mar, 2021
No community comments so far
Editor invited
On 19 Mar, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 15 Mar, 2021
First submitted
On 26 Feb, 2021
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Declarations:
Declarations
- This study involved human subjects.
- The author confirmed that all appropriate ethical guidelines for the use of human subjects have been followed, any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee review has been obtained, and information about the IRB/ethics committee is included in the manuscript.
- The author has confirmed that all necessary patient/participant consent or assent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. If the IRB/ethics committee waived the requirement for patient/participant consent or assent, an explanation for the waiver is included in the text.
- The author has confirmed that a statement listing potential conflicts of interest or lack thereof is included in the text.
Purpose: To explore the effects of mobility restriction on the mental health of Ecuadorian young adults.
Methods: The current is a cross-sectional study that included 8426 young adults. Socio-demographic and mental health data were collected through an online survey during May-June 2020 in Ecuador. Data on mobility was extracted from Google Mobility Reports. Four aspects of the participants’ mental health were evaluated: eating behavior (emotional eating), depression, sleep quality and sense of coherence using previously validated instruments. Data were analyzed using linear regression using R.
Results: Mean age of the participants was 22.85 (SD = 4.43), most of whom were women (n = 5943, 70.53%). During mandatory confinement, mobility due to retail and recreation, to groceries and pharmacies, to parks, to transit stations, to workplaces were reduced by nearly 50%. In contrast, mobility to places of residence increased by nearly 20%. Less healthy eating behavior was associated with lower mobility to retail/recreation, residential or workplaces. Depression was associated with lower mobility to residential and workplaces. Worse quality of sleep was associated with lower mobility to retail/recreation, residential and workplaces. Higher sense of coherence was associated with higher mobility to residential and to workplaces. Women and youngsters more often showed depression, less healthy eating behavior, worse quality of sleep and lower sense of coherence.
Conclusion: Mobility restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on people's mental health. Prevention and health promotion measures directed to ameliorate the effects of confinement on mental health should target risk populations including women and youngsters.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
This preprint is available for download as a PDF.
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