How COVID-19-related national lockdown affected daily life activities and physical pain status? A sample from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Abstract

Objective: After COVID-19 has been defined as a pandemic, it was decided on national lockdowns in most countries. The COVID-19-related lockdown affected both people’s physical, social and mental health and also the public economy negatively. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the effects of COVID-19, during and after pandemic related lockdown, on daily life activities, economic anxiety, and pain status in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Methods: Data was collected via an online questionnaire and voluntary people (n:307) who were on the island between March-May-2020 participated. Nutritional behaviors (shopping, disinfection of packaged foods, preparation of new recipes, appetite), physical activity behaviors, sedentary activities (e.g. screen time) and physical pain status of participants during and after lockdown were questioned. Results: Most of the participants’ physical activity levels decreased and sedentary behaviors increased during the lockdown. Although they slept more (7,69±1.47 vs 7.16±1.04) (p<0.001), sleep quality was declared lower (3.28±1.12 vs 3.45±1.00) (p: 0.030). New recipes were tried but most of the participants do not continue to cook these recipes after lockdown. Most of the participants (78.2%) had an increased duration of time in front of the screen on the internet during the lockdown and decreased physical activity and step count (56.7% and 62.9% respectively). Approximately, half of these participants declared a significant decrease in their screen time after the lockdown (p< 0.001). Moreover, both the alteration of body weight and increased screen time increased relapsing pain (p: 0.034, p: 0.024) and the most common focus of pain during lockdown was found as the neck area for each pain status. Conclusion: In addition to health measures taken during pandemics, official bodies should also be prepared to cope with the changes in daily life activities which can lead to chronic diseases. © 2023, Turk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji Dergisi. All Rights Reserved.