Florence, 30 April – (beraking latest news Health) – Due to Covid and restrictions, 16.5% of the population say they have symptoms of depression. The figure becomes striking among the youngest: in the range between 18 and 25 years it rises to 34.7%, more than double. A number confirmed by another survey among the share of people who experience psychological distress: 27.1% in the population average, which reaches 40.2% among young people. Almost 60% of parents consider the psychological impact of the pandemic on minors to be significant. About 30% think it is not too relevant and with lasting consequences, while those who see no problems are below the 10% threshold. These are some of the consequences of Covid-19 on the health and habits of Italians that emerged from the research presented by the ‘Italia in Salute’ Foundation and carried out by Sociometrica.
More generally, almost half of the population (49.1%) claims to have increased their nervousness during this period: 43.9% do less physical activity or have stopped doing it altogether; 28.8% say they sleep less or have difficulty falling asleep; 25.7% say they eat more or have stopped following dietary rules. Also, as mentioned above, 16.5% of the population say they have symptoms of depression. A particularly worrying element, the latter, especially in light of the fact that usually one does not have pleasure in externalizing this condition and, often, those who suffer from it are not fully aware of it.
If we look at these phenomena from the point of view of gender, we find that women are most affected. In almost all of the behaviors analyzed, the impact on women is much heavier than that on men. For example, 55.9% of women feel more stress than 39% of men. The only behavior that has a major impact on men is giving up sports and physical activities.
However, some positive elements also emerge from the survey. On food there is a double confirmation: on the one hand those who feel uncomfortable because they cannot control their diet and an equivalent part who, on the other hand, pays more attention to us. As for alcohol consumption, the number of people who reduced it is even slightly higher than those who increased it. In general, we could say that the pandemic has not taken root on some addictions such as alcohol and smoking.