Change of life habits and applying barrier measures after exposure to COVID-19, Mahdia (Tunisia).

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing considerable lifestyle changes through barriers measures, lockdown and social distancing. These changes include: Preoccupation with Covid-19 pandemic news, sleep disturbances and eating habits changes. Aim: To assess the lifestyle changes after exposure to a risk of coronavirus contamination. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study during November and December 2020 among adults tested for COVID-19 in Mahdia (Tunisia).To assess the life habits changes (sleep, physical exercises and diet), the compliance with barrier measures and preoccupation with COVID-19 pandemic news, a reliable tool was developed and pretested by experts at the department of Preventive and Community Medicine Results: A total of 277 participants were enrolled, the average age was 34.32 years ± 13.7. Among them 60.8% were women (sex-ratio = 0.51).Almost two thirds 62.2% were tested positive for Covid-19. Doctors presented 29.2% of the respondents. Among the study sample, 38.6% lived with elderly people. Approximately three quarters 77.8% reported an improvement in compliance with barrier measures. The majority 92.1% respected more the social distancing. As for hand washing and for mask wearing, 87.7% said to wash their hands more, and 95.3% were more concerned about wearing masks. A life habits change was observed among 16.7% of the respondents. Almost half of the participants 45.5% increased their physical activity, while 76.2% tried to get a healthy diet. Sleep disorders were registered among 48.7% of respondents. Preoccupation with the COVID news was observed in approximately half of the participants (57.8%). Conclusions: The COVID19 pandemic affected different aspects of our lives. Research related to lifestyle, social and behavioral studies are as important as those related to medical and biological science. Key messages: A life habits change was observed among 16.7% of the respondent, sleep disorder were registered among 48.7%, and 77.8% reported and improvement in applying barrier measures. Research related to lifestyle, social and behavioral studies are as important as those related to medical and biological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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