Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Perceived Physical and Mental Health and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of People With Disabilities: A Quantitative Analysis of the International Community Survey

• Published in: American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation Vol. 102; no. 2; pp. 144 - 150
• Main Authors: Tuakli-Wosornu, Yetsa A., Wang, Kangxin, Fourtassi, Maryam, Stratton, Catherine, Muñoz-Velasco, Laura Paulina, Hajjioui, Abderrazak, Cooper, Rory, Balikuddembe, Joseph K., Peterson, Mark, Pandiyan, Uma, Krassioukov, Andrei, Tripathi, Deo Rishi, Palomba, Angela, Hong, Bo-Young
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-02-2023
• Subjects: Adult; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disabled Persons; Female; Healthy Lifestyle; Humans; Male; Mental Health; Pandemics; Prospective Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0894-9115; 1537-7385
• DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000002056

This study aims to determine the perceived impact of the coronavirus pandemic on physical and mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviors in community-dwelling persons with disabilities, as compared with those without disabilities.
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with a web-based global survey.
Over 3 mos, 3550 responses were collected from 65 countries. The study included 2689 responses without skipped questions as full data for analysis. Most respondents were women (82.82%), and approximately half (52.81%) were between the ages of 25 and 39 yrs, followed by those between the ages of 40 and 60 yrs (38.6%). Among the participants, 52% indicated physical activity levels decreased and 20% reported eating less fruit and vegetables than before. Furthermore, 45% noted that they slept less than before. Perceived physical and mental health and changes to eating habits during the pandemic showed a significant difference in people with and without disabilities. Furthermore, perceived effects on physical health had a significant effect on the reported degree of disability.
This study indicates that the pandemic had a larger impact on perceived physical and mental health and changes in eating habits and tobacco use among people with disabilities than people without disabilities.