TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student' sleep patterns, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake
T2 - A global survey
AU - Ellakany, Passent
AU - Zuñiga, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño
AU - El Tantawi, Maha
AU - Brown, Brandon
AU - Aly, Nourhan M
AU - Ezechi, Oliver
AU - Uzochukwu, Benjamin
AU - Abeldaño, Giuliana Florencia
AU - Ara, Eshrat
AU - Ayanore, Martin Amogre
AU - Gaffar, Balgis
AU - Al-Khanati, Nuraldeen Maher
AU - Ishabiyi, Anthonia Omotola
AU - Jafer, Mohammed
AU - Khan, Abeedha Tu-Allah
AU - Khalid, Zumama
AU - Lawal, Folake Barakat
AU - Lusher, Joanne
AU - Nzimande, Ntombifuthi P
AU - Osamika, Bamidele Emmanuel
AU - Quadri, Mir Faeq Ali
AU - Roque, Mark
AU - Shamala, Anas
AU - Al-Tammemi, Ala'a B
AU - Yousaf, Muhammad Abrar
AU - Virtanen, Jorma I
AU - Nguyen, Annie Lu
AU - Folayan, Morenike Oluwatoyin
PY - 2022/1/28
Y1 - 2022/1/28
N2 - BACKGROUND: The education sector experienced substantial impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting from worldwide restrictions.PURPOSE: To examine differences in the sleep patterns, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake of students and non-students during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS: This was a global cross-sectional study conducted in the second half of 2020 using multiple social media platforms to recruit study participants globally. A close-ended questionnaire was administered anonymously in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic to adults ages 18 and older. The outcome variables considered in analyses were changes in sleep pattern, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake. The explanatory variable was student status categorized as students vs. non-student. T-test, chi-square, and Mann Whitney U tests were used to assess differences between student and non-student populations. One logistic regression model was built for each outcome variable. Country of residence and country income level were included in the adjusted models.RESULTS: There were 17,008 participants of which 3,793 (22.3%) were students. Of the total sample, 4,889 (28.7%) reported changes in sleep, 4,642 (31.8%) reported increases in sexual activity, 10,278 (70.7%) reported increases in screen use, and 5,662 (40.2%) reported increases in food intake during the pandemic. Compared to non-students, students had significantly higher odds of reporting changes in sleep (AOR = 1.52), increases in sexual activity (AOR = 1.79), and increases in screen use (AOR = 1.36) but lower odds of reporting increase in food intake (AOR = 0.87).CONCLUSION: Students displayed higher risk of experiencing changes in sleep, sexual behavior, and screen use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has the potential to lead to broader adverse effects on students' overall wellbeing. The findings and implications raise further obligations on the education sector to put extra-curricular support systems in place that address COVID-19 related behavior changes that have the potential to adversely impact students' wellbeing.
AB - BACKGROUND: The education sector experienced substantial impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting from worldwide restrictions.PURPOSE: To examine differences in the sleep patterns, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake of students and non-students during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS: This was a global cross-sectional study conducted in the second half of 2020 using multiple social media platforms to recruit study participants globally. A close-ended questionnaire was administered anonymously in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic to adults ages 18 and older. The outcome variables considered in analyses were changes in sleep pattern, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake. The explanatory variable was student status categorized as students vs. non-student. T-test, chi-square, and Mann Whitney U tests were used to assess differences between student and non-student populations. One logistic regression model was built for each outcome variable. Country of residence and country income level were included in the adjusted models.RESULTS: There were 17,008 participants of which 3,793 (22.3%) were students. Of the total sample, 4,889 (28.7%) reported changes in sleep, 4,642 (31.8%) reported increases in sexual activity, 10,278 (70.7%) reported increases in screen use, and 5,662 (40.2%) reported increases in food intake during the pandemic. Compared to non-students, students had significantly higher odds of reporting changes in sleep (AOR = 1.52), increases in sexual activity (AOR = 1.79), and increases in screen use (AOR = 1.36) but lower odds of reporting increase in food intake (AOR = 0.87).CONCLUSION: Students displayed higher risk of experiencing changes in sleep, sexual behavior, and screen use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has the potential to lead to broader adverse effects on students' overall wellbeing. The findings and implications raise further obligations on the education sector to put extra-curricular support systems in place that address COVID-19 related behavior changes that have the potential to adversely impact students' wellbeing.
KW - Adolescent
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Eating
KW - Global Health
KW - Humans
KW - Pandemics
KW - Screen Time
KW - Sexual Behavior
KW - Sleep
KW - Social Media
KW - Students/psychology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Young Adult
KW - HEALTH
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0262617
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0262617
M3 - Article
C2 - 35089943
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 17
SP - e0262617
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
IS - 1
M1 - 0262617
ER -