Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown on Mental Health and its correlation with physical health among Healthy Working Adults: A Quantitative Study

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 3, 82 - 87, 01.09.2020

Janula Raju , Raju Asirvatham , Chithra R A

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic lockdown caused sudden and drastic alteration in the daily routine, which resulted in a psychological burden for the general population. So the study aimed to study the effect of lockdown on mental health and its correlation with physical health among healthy working adults. This qualitative, cross-sectional study was conducted in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. A convenient sample of 590 healthy working adults was participated and completed a self-administered questionnaire. A paired t-test was used to compare the mean score of physical and mental health. Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between physical symptoms and mental health. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the frequencies of variables. A significant P value was set at 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. The results showed that more than half (56.6%) of participants were reported that they had good physical health, on the other side more than half (55.1%) of participants reported that they had an average level of mental health during the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. The physical symptoms like headache, sleeping pattern, gas trouble, indigestion, and palpitation were had a correlation with mental health. In conclusion, Covid-19 pandemic had a significant effect on the physical and mental health of the working adult population. Particularly, it affected the mental health of people which eventually had various noticeable effects on physical health also.

Keywords

COVID-19, Pandemic, Lockdown, Physical health, Mental Health, Correlation

References

• Anne Marie Oberheu. 2019. How your mental health affects your physical health. Healthy Lifestyle. May 3, Available from https://blog.bcbsnc.com/2019/05/mental-health-affects-physical-health
• Ashleigh Webber. 2020. Two-thirds experiencing disturbed nights and sleep problems during the lockdown. Occupational health and wellbeing. Available at: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/two-thirds-experiencing-sleep-problems-in-lockdown/
• Bhatia V, Tandon RK. 2005. Stress and the gastrointestinal tract. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 20: 332-339.
• Burg MM, Jain D, Soufer R, Kerns RD, Zaret BL. 1993. Role of behavioral and psychological factors in mental stress-induced silent left ventricular dysfunction in coronary artery disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 22:440–448.
• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMAH). 2008. The Relationship between Mental Health, Mental Illness and Chronic Physical Conditions. Available at https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/the-relationship-between-mental-health-mental-illness-and-chronic-physical-conditions/
• Cuiyan Wang , Riyu Pan, Xiaoyang Wan, Yilin Tan, Linkang Xu , Cyrus S. Ho.2020. Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17(1729):2-25 doi:10.3390/ijerph17051729
• De Benedictis G, Lorenzetti A.1992. The role of stressful life events in the persistence of primary headache: major events vs. daily hassles. Pain 51:35–42. Domenico D et al. 2000. Stress and chronic headache. J Headache Pain. 1(1): S49–S52. doi: 10.1007/s101940070026
• Gettleman, Jeffrey; Schultz, Kai. 2020. "Modi Orders 3-Week Total Lockdown for All 1.3 Billion Indians". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/world/asia/india-coronavirus-lockdown.html
• Guimont C, Brisson C, Dagenais GR, Milot A, Vézina M, Masse B, et al. 2006. Effects of job strain on blood pressure: a prospective study of male and female white-collar workers. Am J Public Health 96:1436–1443.
• Huerta-Franco MR, Vargas-Luna M, Tienda P, DelgadilloHoltfort I, Balleza-Ordaz M, Flores-Hernandez C. 2013. Effects of occupational stress on the gastrointestinal tract. World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. 4(4): 108-118.
• Julius Ohrnberger , Eleonora Fichera , Matt Sutton. 2017. The relationship between physical and mental health: A mediation analysis. Soc Sci Med. 195:42-49. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.008
• Konturek PC, Brzozowski T, Konturek SJ. 2011. Stress and the gut: pathophysiology, clinical consequences, diagnostic approach and treatment options. J Physiol Pharmacol . 62: 591-599.
• Lawrence D, Coghlan R. 2002. Health inequalities and the health needs of people with mental illness. New South Wales Public Health Bulletin. 13(7):155-158.
• Liji Thomas. How India's lockdown has affected mental health. 2020. News edical life science. May 27 2020 https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200527/How-Indias-lockdown-has-affected-mental-health.aspx
• McEwen BS, Sapolsky RM. 1995. Stress and cognitive function. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 5:205–216.
• McEwen BS.1999. Stress and hippocampal plasticity. Ann Rev Neurosci. 22:105–122.
• Mendl M.1999. Performing under pressure: stress and cognitive function. Appl Animal Behav Sci. 65:221–244.
• Morgan VA, McGrath JJ, Jablensky A, et al. 2014. Psychosis prevalence and physical, metabolic, and cognitive co-morbidity: data from the second Australian national survey of psychosis. Psychological Medicine. 44(10):2163-2176.
• Sanaya Chandar. 2020. India’s first confirmed case of coronavirus reported in Kerala. Quartz India. Available from https://qz.com/india/1793841/indias-first-confirmed-case-of-coronavirus-reported-in-kerala/
• Sang Pyo Lee, In-Kyung Sung, Jeong Hwan Kim, Sun-Young Lee, Hyung Seok Park and Chan Sup Shim. 2015. The Effect of Emotional Stress and Depression on the Prevalence of Digestive Diseases J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 21 (2): 273-282. http://dx.doi.org/10.5056/jnm14116
• Southall HG, DeYoung SE, Harris CA. 2017. Lack of cultural competency in international aid responses: the Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Front Public Health. 5:5
• Sweta Akundi. 2020. Losing sleep over the coronavirus pandemic?. The Hindu. Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/how-the-covid-19-lockdown-is-changing-our-sleep-cycle/article31432402.ece
• Tobe SW, Kiss A, Sainsbury S, Jesin M, Geerts R, Baker B. 2007 The impact of job strain and marital cohesion on ambulatory blood pressure during 1 year: the double exposure study. Am J Hypertens 20:148–153
• WHO. 2020. Pneumonia of unknown cause – China. https://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown-cause-china/en/