The effect of covid-19 on self-perceived health status of citizens. The case of Greece.

INTRODUCTION: The covid-19 pandemic started in 2019 when the first case of coronavirus disease was reported in Wuhan in the Hubei province of China on December 12. The pandemic spread rapidly throughout most of the world. On April30, 2021, 150,110,310 people have been infected with 3,158,792 deaths worldwide. It increased morbidly and mortality and affected people and economies at every level. Pandemics lead to social disruption and economic downturns both regionally and globally. National incomes decreased and governments implemented lockdowns which caused the interruption of economic activity. More and more people were faced with uncertainty and anxiety. At the same time the effect on the pandemic on the health care systems and on the lives of human beings were enormous. Covid-19 took a heavy toll on older adults. Older adults were considered a group at risk for many reasons. Besides age, medical problems, long-term of drug use, nutrition and living conditions increased the probability of older people to be infected by covid-19. Data indicate that the most of deaths concerned older people. Thus, the chronic medical problems such as diabetes and neuromuscular disorders and the long - term use of medication make older people more vulnerable to infections (Tummala et al, 2010). Yamaroto et al. (1990) reported that severe underlying disease and poor general condition were associated with poor clinical recovery in older patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia. The governments around the world implemented the social distancing and isolation as the necessary measures to save the lives and protect the vulnerable people, such as older people. These measures lead to significant limitations of daily activities and limited the access to health workers on whom the older people are reliant. Furthermore, social activities of older people were interrupted due to the measures of keeping social distancing. The social isolation in older people could cause depression and other psychological problems. Lekamwasam and Lekamwasam (2020) report that older people should not be marginalized or made to feel marginalized regarding health and other social requirements. Pue et al (2021) using an online survey studied the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on wellbeing of older adults. They found that the participants in their survey reported a significant decrease in activity level, sleep quality and wellbeing during the covid-19 pandemic and the pandemic had a severe impact on the mental health of older adults. The goal of our paper is twofold: a) to investigate the behavior of Greek people regarding their habits during the period of lockdown and the measures implemented by the government b) to analyze the determinant factors of the mental health of the participants during the period of lockdown. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: This study is based on a survey of 605 participants during the period after the first lockdown (End of February - end of May). 64% of the participants were people aged less than 40 years old and 36% of the participants aged more than 40 years old. The main research question is to explore the factors that affected the mental health of the participants during the period of the first and second lockdown and investigate the behavior of older people in comparison to the behavior of other age groups during the pandemic period. The questionnaire consisted of 19 categories of questions (total number of questions = 80 questions). The categories of questions referred to demographic characteristics of the participants, to their habits and their daily activities, to measures taken by the government and to the health status and the mental health of the participants. Correlations between age and other variables show the different behavior of older people in comparison to other age groups during the period of covid-19. Linear regression and binary logistic regression investigate the determinant factors of the health status of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: The empirical results indicated that the mental health status of the people has been affected during the period of the lockdown. The restrictions imposed by the government negatively related the health status of the older people. It is also important to notice that older people showed a higher degree of compliance with pandemic measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]