Abstract
In older adults, lifestyle plays an important role in adaptation to cope with the coronavirus pandemic during isolation and quarantine at home, so its research objective is to determine the lifestyle during the pandemic of COVID - 19 in older adults in a district of North Lima. It is a quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental cross-sectional study, with a total population of 176 adults over 60 years of age, who answered a questionnaire of sociodemographic data and the lifestyle instrument. The results show the lifestyle of older adults, where 38 (21,6 %) have a lifestyle in a danger zone, 21 (11,9 %) have a low lifestyle, 89 (50,6 %) have an adequate lifestyle and 28 (15,9 %) have a fantastic lifestyle. In conclusion, strategies should be sought or developed to improve both physical and eating activities in older adults at home.
Keywords
COVID – 19, Pandemic, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Elderly People
INTRODUCTION
In the world, the coronavirus (COVID - 19) has made a change in people's lives, due to its spread, generating chaos, infections and deaths,(1) where people's habits have been changed as a result of isolation and quarantine,(2) where the changes that have been made, have markedly modified the lifestyle of people both in their health well-being and dietary changes.(3)
Likewise, the isolation of the population as a result of COVID - 19 as a prevention for its contagion,(4) has consequences on the physical and mental health of the population, changing the lifestyle of people,(5) where to adapt it will play an important role in improving people's lifestyles during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.(6)
In the same way, in the elderly who are the most vulnerable to the disease, they have had to adapt to the situation,(7) where their routines that they performed are done at home, although this has generated a lot of stress in them, since the decrease in communication, loneliness and physical inactivity and dietary changes,(8) puts their physical and mental health at some risk,(9) making them more susceptible to having sedentary behaviors due to an excessive decrease in activity daily physical activity.(10)
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected the physical activity of the elderly, but also affects their mental health,(12) causing symptoms of depression, stress, mood swings, irritability and insomnia,(13) all of this is consequently due to isolation and quarantine due to the pandemic.(14)
For this reason, older adults are the stage where they are vulnerable to all kinds of diseases, but by not performing their daily routines, it not only affects their physical health but also their mental health due to isolation and quarantine at home.(11)
In a study carried out in Spain,(15) with 683 participants, they observed that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a negative impact on physical activity, health, changes in diet and sedentary lifestyle in people who physically they were active and therefore tended to have an inappropriate lifestyle during confinement within the home.
In a study carried out in Brazil,(16) with 35 hypertensive elderly participants, they argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decrease in physical activity in older adults, and due to this, older adults have presented harmful changes in their behaviors and this has been a determining factor for their blood pressure to be altered.
In another study carried out in Spain,(17) with 483 older adult participants, they observed in their results that older adults who have performed rigorously physical activities before and during the pandemic, have developed a resilience of high numbers by adapting to reality to maintain or improve their lifestyle.
Therefore, the research objective is to determine the lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults in a district of North Lima.
Therefore, its research hypothesis is that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated changes in the lifestyle of older adults.
The importance in the study will show if older adults can adapt to maintain or develop skills that improve their lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic and thus they can maintain their well-being of health more comforting, relying on the family that meets an important role so that their mental health is not altered.
METHODS
Research Type
In the research work, due to its properties and the way of collecting data according to the present variables, it is a quantitative approach, with a descriptive, non-experimental and cross-sectional methodological design.(18)
Population
In the present research work, the population is made up of 176 female and male adults over the 60 years old from the Puente Piedra district.
Inclusion criteria
Older adults residing in the Puente Piedra district
Older adults who voluntarily agree to be present in the study by signing the informed consent.
Technique and instrument
The technique used is the survey, through the FANTASTICO questionnaire or data collection instrument whose purpose is to measure the lifestyle of older adults who attend the primary health care establishment.
The FANTASTICO instrument, is administered to assess how good their lifestyle is, consists of 30 items that are indicated in 10 dimensions, F: family and friends, A: associativity and physical activity, N: nutrition, T: toxicity, A : alcohol, S: sleep and stress, T: personality type and activities, I: inner image, C: control of health and sexuality and finally, O: order; which are evaluated with a Likert-type scale where “0 = Never”, “1 = Sometimes”, “2 = Always”. The final score is multiplied by 2, to obtain a final range from 0 to 120, where the ranges are quantitatively appreciated where "0 to 46 = is in danger zone", "47 to 72 = somewhat low, it could improve", "73 to 84 = adequate, you are fine", "85 to 102 = good job, you are on the right track ", "103 to 120 = congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle".(19)
The data collection processing was through the questionnaire in which the matrix for the database was performed in the SPSS Statistics Base 26,0 program, in which the data analysis and processing were performed to perform tabulations and figures for then be described and interpreted, respectively.
Instrument location and application
The survey was applied to the elderly population of the Puente Piedra district of North Lima.
First, the coordination with the elderly was carried out and then explaining to them about the survey and why the research work is carried out so that they have a knowledge of what is going to be carried out.
The survey was carried out during the mornings with a time of approximately 15 minutes in each elderly adult in the research work, concluding with satisfaction since it could be carried out with the support of the elderly for the research.
RESULTS
Below is a summary table of the surveys carried out following the guidelines corresponding to the research work:
In figure 1, the lifestyle of older adults is observed, where 38 (21,6 %) have a lifestyle in a danger zone, 21 (11,9 %) have a somewhat low lifestyle, 89 (50,6 %) have an adequate lifestyle and 28 (15,9 %) have a fantastic lifestyle.
Sex | Sex | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | Female | Male | Total |
Lifestyle | You are in the danger zone | Count | 19 | 19 | 38 |
[empty cell] | You are in the danger zone | % within Lifestyle | 50,0 % | 50,0 % | 100,0 % |
[empty cell] | Somewhat low, you could improve | Count | 7 | 14 | 21 |
[empty cell] | Somewhat low, you could improve | % within Lifestyle | 33,3 % | 66,7 % | 100,0 % |
[empty cell] | Adequate, you are fine | Count | 55 | 34 | 89 |
[empty cell] | Adequate, you are fine | % within Lifestyle | 61,8 % | 38,2 % | 100,0 % |
[empty cell] | Congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle | Count | 21 | 7 | 28 |
[empty cell] | Congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle | % within Lifestyle | 75,0 % | 25,0 % | 100,0 % |
Total | [empty cell] | Count | 102 | 74 | 176 |
[empty cell] | [empty cell] | % within Lifestyle | 58,0 % | 42,0 % | 100,0 % |
Chi-square tests | [empty cell] | Value | df | df | Asymptotic significance (bilateral) |
Pearson's Chi-square | [empty cell] | 10,089a | 3 | 3 | 0,018 |
Likelihood ratio | [empty cell] | 10,233 | 3 | 3 | 0,017 |
Linear by linear association | [empty cell] | 6,385 | 1 | 1 | 0,012 |
N of valid cases | [empty cell] | 176 | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] |
Note: a. 0 cells (0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 8,83. | Note: a. 0 cells (0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 8,83. | Note: a. 0 cells (0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 8,83. | Note: a. 0 cells (0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 8,83. | Note: a. 0 cells (0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 8,83. | Note: a. 0 cells (0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 8,83. |
In table 1, the lifestyle is related to the sex of the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic in a district of North Lima, in which it was determined with the Pearson chi-square test (X2). The level of significance of the test obtained a value of 8,83 (p> 0,05) (X2 = 10,089; d.f = 3). Therefore, we can interpret that in the female sex 19 (50 %) their lifestyle is in a danger zone as well as the male sex 19 (50 %), in a somewhat low lifestyle 14 (66,7 %) are of the male sex, in the appropriate lifestyle, 55 (61,8 %) are of the female sex and in the fantastic lifestyle, 21 (75 %) are of the female sex.
Marital Status | Marital Status | Marital Status | Marital Status | Marital Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | Single | Cohabiting | Married | Separated | Widowed | Total |
Lifestyle | You are in the danger zone | Count | 1 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 38 |
[empty cell] | You are in the danger zone | % within Lifestyle | 2,6 % | 39,5 % | 55,3 % | 0,0 % | 2,6 % | 100,0 % |
[empty cell] | Somewhat low, you could improve | Count | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
[empty cell] | Somewhat low, you could improve | % within Lifestyle | 0,0 % | 33,3 % | 66,7 % | 0,0 % | 0,0 % | 100,0 % |
[empty cell] | Adequate, you are fine | Count | 1 | 31 | 45 | 3 | 9 | 89 |
[empty cell] | Adequate, you are fine | % within Lifestyle | 1,1 % | 34,8 % | 50,6 % | 3,4 % | 10,1 % | 100,0 % |
[empty cell] | Congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle | Count | 3 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
[empty cell] | Congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle | % within Lifestyle | 10,7 % | 46,4 % | 42,9 % | 0,0 % | 0,0 % | 100,0 % |
Total | [empty cell] | Count | 5 | 66 | 92 | 3 | 10 | 176 |
[empty cell] | [empty cell] | % within Lifestyle | 2,8% | 37,5 % | 52,3 % | 1,7 % | 5,7 % | 100,0 % |
Chi-square tests | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | Value | Value | df | Asymptotic significance (bilateral) | Asymptotic significance (bilateral) | Asymptotic significance (bilateral) |
Pearson's Chi-square | Pearson's Chi-square | [empty cell] | 19,373a | 19,373a | 12 | 0,080 | 0,080 | 0,080 |
Likelihood ratio | Likelihood ratio | [empty cell] | 21,136 | 21,136 | 12 | 0,048 | 0,048 | 0,048 |
Linear by linear association | Linear by linear association | [empty cell] | ,639 | ,639 | 1 | 0,424 | 0,424 | 0,424 |
N of valid cases | N of valid cases | [empty cell] | 176 | 176 | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] |
Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. | Notes: a. 11 cells (55,0 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 36. |
Occupation | Occupation | Occupation | Occupation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | Stable Worker | Temporary | Without Occupation | Retired | Total | |
Lifestyle | You are in the danger zone | Count | 7 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 38 | |
Lifestyle | You are in the danger zone | % within Lifestyle | 18,4 % | 28,9 % | 42,1 % | 10,5 % | 100,0 % | |
Lifestyle | Somewhat low, you could improve | Count | 5 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 21 | |
Lifestyle | Somewhat low, you could improve | % within Lifestyle | 23,8 % | 42,9 % | 23,8 % | 9,5 % | 100,0 % | |
Lifestyle | Adequate, you are fine | Count | 6 | 25 | 50 | 8 | 89 | |
Lifestyle | Adequate, you are fine | % within Lifestyle | 6,7 % | 28,1 % | 56,2 % | 9,0 % | 100,0 % | |
Lifestyle | Congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle | Count | 1 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 28 | |
Lifestyle | Congratulations, you have a fantastic lifestyle | % within Lifestyle | 3,6 % | 28,6 % | 39,3 % | 28,6 % | 100,0 % | |
Total | [empty cell] | Count | 19 | 53 | 82 | 22 | 176 | |
Total | [empty cell] | % within Lifestyle | 10,8% | 30,1 % | 46,6 % | 12,5 % | 100,0 % | |
Chi-square tests | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | Value | Value | df | Asymptotic significance (bilateral) | Asymptotic significance (bilateral) | |
Pearson's Chi-square | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | 20,854a | 20,854a | 9 | 0,013 | 0,013 | |
Likelihood ratio | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | 19,191 | 19,191 | 9 | 0,024 | 0,024 | |
Linear by linear association | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | 7,767 | 7,767 | 1 | 0,005 | 0,005 | |
N of valid cases | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | 176 | 176 | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | [empty cell] | |
Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. | Notes: a. 6 cells (37,5 %) have expected a count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2,27. |
In table 2, the lifestyle is related to the marital status of the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic in a district of North Lima, in which it was determined with the Pearson chi-square test (X2). The level of significance of the test obtained a value of 0,36 (p> 0,05) (X2 = 19,373; d.f = 12). From what we can interpret that in the marital status of the elderly, in singles 3 (10,7 %) have a fantastic lifestyle, cohabitants 31 (34,8 %) have an adequate lifestyle, married 45 (50,6 %) have an adequate lifestyle, separated 3 (3,4 %) have an adequate lifestyle and in widowers 9 (10,1 %) have an adequate lifestyle.
In table 3, the lifestyle is related to the occupation of the elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic in a district of North Lima, in which it was determined with the Pearson chi-square test (X2). The significance level of the test obtained a value of 2,27 (p> 0,05) (X2 = 20,854; d.f = 9). Therefore, we can interpret that older adults with stable work 7 (18,4 %) have a lifestyle in danger zone, with temporary work 25 (28,1 %) have an adequate lifestyle, without occupation 50 (56,2 %) have an adequate lifestyle and in retired 8 (9 %) have an adequate lifestyle and 8 (28,6 %) have a fantastic lifestyle.
DISCUSSION
In the present study, an approach was given to the physical and mental health of the elderly people in the Puente Piedra district, since due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elderly has adapted to carry out their activities at home facing this situation to improve their lifestyle during quarantine and isolation.
In the results of lifestyle in older adults, it is observed that older adults presented an adequate lifestyle, this is because older adults within the home have adapted to reality due to the COVID-19 pandemic, improving more their ability to cope to carry out their activities within the home, where the family fulfills the role of providing the necessary resources so that they can improve their lifestyle. In (15) they argue that older adults who live alone tend to have an inadequate lifestyle, where physical inactivity, inadequate nutrition, makes the role of the family indispensable for the elderly to improve their lifestyle at home.
In the results of lifestyle in relation to sex, we observe that the female sex presents a better lifestyle than the male sex, this is because the female sex maintains their lifestyle because they are involved in what to do at home, therefore quarantine and isolation do not affect women much due to the development of daily responsibilities within the home, and this causes their lifestyle to be altered. In (17) they argue that women have a better health index in relation to healthy habits and personal well-being since as a woman she develops skills that allow her to improve her lifestyle, that is why in elderly men when exposed to different environments, also are more vulnerable to non-communicable diseases, which affects their lifestyle, and even more to the disease of COVID - 19 where they are exposed to presenting comorbidity diseases making them more susceptible to COVID - 19.
CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that strategies should be sought for health care for the elderly, through calls or the use of video calls for their attention, which allows to see how the elderly person develops at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and, will allow to know how the life of the elderly is and if it is necessary to make changes in their daily routines.
It is concluded that it is important to know how their diet of the elderly is, since the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their mental health making them susceptible to weight loss, inadequate nutrition, and sedentary lifestyle.
It is concluded that strategies should be sought or developed to improve both physical and eating activities in older adults at home.
This research work will bring benefits to future research on the subject since the lifestyle of the elderly develops during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the elderly can adapt to improve or maintain their lifestyle.
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Declarations
Funding
This research work does not have Funding Sources AUTHORSHIP CONTRIBUTION Conceptualization: Nahuel Gonzalez-Cordero, Enrique Huamani-Uriarte, Niels Romero-Alva. Drafting - original draft: Nahuel Gonzalez-Cordero, Enrique Huamani-Uriarte, Niels Romero-Alva. Writing - proofreading and editing: Nahuel Gonzalez-Cordero, Enrique Huamani-Uriarte, Niels Romero-Alva.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Authorship contributions
Drafting – original draft: Nahuel Gonzalez-Cordero, Enrique Huamani-Uriarte, Niels Romero-Alva.
Writing–review and editing: Nahuel Gonzalez-Cordero, Enrique Huamani-Uriarte, Niels Romero-Alva.