First study on the health conditions of adults one month into COVID-19 lockdown
KEY FINDINGS:
鈥⑻ 听Restrictive measures to contain COVID-19 disrupt people鈥檚 normal work and life, which in turn may impact the health and wellbeing of people.听
鈥⑻ 听Early evidence of people鈥檚 health conditions after one-month lockdown in China can help other countries that just started confinement to understand its impact on mental health.
A new study provides one of the earliest pieces of evidence that the COVID-19 outbreak affected people not only physically but also mentally.听
The preliminary results reveal adults in locations more affected by COVID-19 had lower physical health, mental health and life satisfaction.听
Researchers from the 成人大片, Tongji University and University of Sydney surveyed 369 adults living in 64 cities in China after one-month of confinement measures in February this year.
Led by Dr Stephen Zhang from the 成人大片, the study identifies adults with existing health conditions and those who stopped working as most at risk of worse mental and physical health.听
鈥淎s many parts of the world are only just beginning to go into lockdown, we examined the impact of the one-month long lockdown on people鈥檚 health, distress and life satisfaction,鈥 said Dr Zhang.
鈥淭he study offers somewhat of a 鈥榗rystal ball鈥 into the mental health of Australian residents once they have been in the lockdown for one month.鈥
More than a quarter of the participants worked at the office during the lockdown period while 38 per cent worked from home and 25 per cent stopped work due to the outbreak.听
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 surprised that adults who stopped working reported worse mental and physical health conditions as well as distress. Work can provide people with a sense of purpose and routine, which is particularly important during this global pandemic.鈥Dr Stephen Zhang, the 成人大片
Published in , the study suggests adults living in locations more affected by COVID-19 reported negative life satisfaction only among adults with chronic medical issues but not for those without existing health issues.
Co-author on the study, Professor Andreas Rauch from the University of Sydney said; 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 surprised that adults who stopped working reported worse mental and physical health conditions as well as distress. Work can provide people with a sense of purpose and routine, which is particularly important during this global pandemic.鈥
Study participants who exercised for more than 2.5 hours per day reported worse life satisfaction in more affected locations while those who exercised for half an hour or less during the lockdown reported positive life satisfaction.
鈥淲e were really surprised by the findings around exercising hours because it appears to be counter-intuitive,鈥 said lead author Dr Zhang.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 possible adults who exercised less could better justify or rationalise their inactive lifestyles in more severely affected cities. More research is needed but these early findings suggest we need to pay attention to more physically active individuals, who might be more frustrated by the restrictions.鈥
The peer-reviewed research, 鈥楿nprecedented disruption of lives and work: Health, distress and life satisfaction of working adults in China one month into the COVID-19 outbreak鈥, is .听
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Available for interviews:
Associate Professor Stephen Zhang
Adelaide Business School
成人大片
Email: stephen.x.zhang@gmail.com听
Professor Andreas Rauch
Professor of Entrepreneurship
The University of Sydney Business School
Email: andreas.rauch@sydney.edu.au
Media enquiries:
Cathy Parker
成人大片 Media
Mobile: +61 (0)409 718 430
Email: cathy.parker@adelaide.edu.au 听
Katie Booth
Media & PR Adviser
The University of Sydney
Mobile: +61 (0)419 278 715
Email: katie.booth@sydney@edu.au听
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