Longitudinal study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet and physical activity among Latinos of Mexican ancestry

Giovanna Muscogiuri, Lindsay Kohler, Oscar Parra, Lisa Soltani, Douglas Spegman, Dawn Coletta, Lawrence J. Mandarino

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused societal disruption in the United States and most of the world, affecting many aspects of life, including healthcare and health-related behaviors such as diet, food security, and physical activity. Communities with economic and health disparities may have been particularly affected. This study was undertaken to determine how conditions in the early pandemic (January, 2021–February, 2022) affected Latino patients of Mexican Ancestry at high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus who participated in El Banco por Salud biobank project in Tucson, Arizona. Methods: Baseline, prepandemic measurements were available in 17, 21, and 60 patients with normal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Results: People with healthy HbA1c were significantly younger, less obese, and had higher HDL cholesterol. HbA1c was unaffected by the pandemic in any group. Triglycerides, total and HDL cholesterol levels fell in all groups during the pandemic. Physical activity levels in all groups were remarkably low, with most reporting no engagement in any voluntary physical activity. Engagement in physical activity or its enjoyment was lower in patients with diabetes and prediabetes than in younger, less obese patients. Major diet differences were between men and women and were present before the pandemic. Women consumed significantly more vegetables, fruit, and salad than men. The only pandemic-related change in diet was a drop in egg consumption, possibly explaining the fall in total cholesterol. Conclusion: Societal disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic had minimal effects on adverse health-related behaviors, cardiometabolic risk, or changes in glycemic control in a Latino community with diabetes and healthcare disparities in the Southwest US.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number342
JournalJournal of Translational Medicine
Volume22
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Diet
  • Food security
  • Physical activity
  • Type 2 diabetes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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