AB010. Associations between non-communicable diseases and coronavirus disease 2019 related experience, behaviours, and mental health: a global study
Abstract

AB010. Associations between non-communicable diseases and coronavirus disease 2019 related experience, behaviours, and mental health: a global study

Junjie Huang1, Sze Chai Chan1, Harry H. X. Wang2, Jacky Yuan3, Wanghong Xu4, Zhi-Jie Zheng5, Hao Xue6, Lin Zhang7, Johnny Y. Jiang7, Jason L. W. Huang8, Ping Chen8, Erlinda Palaganas9, Pramon Viwattanakulvanid10, Ratana Somrongthong10, Andrés Caicedo11, María de Jesús Medina-Arellano12, Jill K. Murphy13, Maria B. A. Paredes14, Mellissa Withers15, Martin C. S. Wong1; the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Global Health Program

1JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; 2School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; 3Clinical Research Centre, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, China; 4Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; 5Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; 6Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China; 7Suzhou Industrial Park Monash Research Institute of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China; 8Department of Gastroenterology, North Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; 9Institute of Management, University of the Philippines Baguio, Baguio, Philippines; 10College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; 11Instituto de Investigaciones en Biomedicina iBioMed, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador; 12Institute of Legal Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico; 13Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; 14i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; 15Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Correspondence to: Mellissa Withers, PhD, MHS. Associate Professor (Clinical), Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA; Director, APRU Global Health Program, APRU International University Centre, Unit 902, Cyberport 2, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong; Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Soto Street Building, SSB318G, 2001 North Soto Street, MC 9239, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9239, USA. Email: mwithers@usc.edu; Martin C. S. Wong, MD, MPH. Professor, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Chair, NCD Research Group, APRU Global Health Program, APRU International University Centre, Unit 902, Cyberport 2, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong. Email: wong_martin@cuhk.edu.hk.

Background: Previous studies have shown that patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had a higher risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to evaluate the associated factors and global impact of the presence of NCDs on COVID-19 related experience, behaviours, and mental health outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a global survey involving 26 countries by an online, self-administered questionnaire (October 2020–December 2021). Data on sociodemographic variables, socioeconomic status, and clinical information were collected among adults aged ≥18 years. We examined factors associated with the presence of NCDs and evaluated whether they were correlated with COVID-19 related experience, behaviours, and mental health outcomes by binary logistic regression.

Results: We collected a total of 2,576 surveys, of which 729 participants (28.3%) had existing NCDs. Participants with NCDs were more likely to suffer from COVID-19 symptoms [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) =3.71, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.65–5.18], infections (aOR =1.81, 95% CI: 1.31–2.50); consume more alcohol (aOR =1.84, 95% CI: 1.35–2.52), smoke more cigarettes (aOR =2.98, 95% CI: 2.04–4.36); postpone COVID-19 vaccination schedule (aOR =1.82, 95% CI: 1.37–2.41); feel highly stressful (aOR =1.45, 95% CI: 1.18–1.77); and perceive higher likelihood of death from the COVID-19 (aOR =1.80, 95% CI: 1.43–2.26).

Conclusions: The presence of NCDs was associated with a higher risk of unhealthy behaviours and poorer mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research should evaluate different interventions for improving COVID-19 experiences, behaviours and mental health outcomes among various vulnerable individuals with NCDs.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19 pandemic); non-communicable diseases (NCDs); experience, behaviours; mental health

Acknowledgments

We thank all the collaborators and respondents who participated in this study. M.d.J.M.A. would like to thank PASPA UNAM program to carry out this research during her annual sabbatical year from January to July 2023.

Funding: This study was funded by the Lee Hysan Foundation Research Grant (No. CA11296) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-2023-apru-ab010/coif). M.W. serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Public Health and Emergency from July 2023 to June 2025. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). This study was approved by the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (No. SBRE-20-035) and informed consent was obtained from all individual participants.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-2023-apru-ab010
Cite this abstract as: Huang J, Chan SC, Wang HHX, Yuan J, Xu W, Zheng ZJ, Xue H, Zhang L, Jiang JY, Huang JLW, Chen P, Palaganas E, Viwattanakulvanid P, Somrongthong R, Caicedo A, de Jesús Medina-Arellano M, Murphy JK, Paredes MBA, Withers M, Wong MCS; the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Global Health Program. AB010. Associations between non-communicable diseases and coronavirus disease 2019 related experience, behaviours, and mental health: a global study. J Public Health Emerg 2024;8:AB010.

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