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Pavlidou E, Poulios E, Papadopoulou SK, Fasoulas A, Dakanalis A, Giaginis C. Clinical Evidence on the Potential Beneficial Effects of Diet and Dietary Supplements against COVID-19 Infection Risk and Symptoms' Severity. Med Sci (Basel) 2024; 12:11. [PMID: 38390861 PMCID: PMC10885051 DOI: 10.3390/medsci12010011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diet and dietary supplements aim to add trace elements, vitamins, and minerals to the body to improve human health and boost the immune system. In the previous few years, the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain has been threatening the health of individuals and public health more broadly, with rates of intensive care unit cases on the rise, while long-term COVID-19 complications are persisting until today. In the peculiar circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, in combination with disease prevention techniques, the strengthening of the immune system is considered particularly important to enable it to effectively respond to and eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 viral pathogen in the event of infection. The purpose of the current literature review is to thoroughly summarize and critically analyze the current clinical data concerning the potential beneficial effects of diet and dietary supplements against COVID-19 infection risk and symptoms' severity. The micronutrients/supplements examined in this study in relation to COVID-19 infection are vitamins A, B, C, and D, zinc, selenium, magnesium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, glutamine, resveratrol, beta-glucans, and probiotics. The potential effects of dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet against SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and symptoms' severity were also analyzed. Our literature review suggests that micro- and macronutrient supplementation and a healthy diet and lifestyle may provide support to immune system function, with beneficial effects both before and during SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, additional studies are recommended to draw safe conclusions and formulate dietary recommendations concerning dietary supplements and their possible effects on preventing and co-treating COVID-19 disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Pavlidou
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (E.P.); (E.P.); (A.F.)
| | - Efthymios Poulios
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (E.P.); (E.P.); (A.F.)
| | - Sousana K. Papadopoulou
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Aristeidis Fasoulas
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (E.P.); (E.P.); (A.F.)
| | - Antonios Dakanalis
- Department of Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via G.B. Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy;
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan Bicocca, Via Cadore 38, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy
| | - Constantinos Giaginis
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece; (E.P.); (E.P.); (A.F.)
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Pavlidou E, Papadopoulou SK, Mentzelou M, Dakanalis A, Vorvolakos T, Antasouras G, Spanoudaki M, Pandi AL, Serdari A, Chrysafi M, Dimoliani S, Giaginis C. Association of Mediterranean Diet Adherence with Sociodemographic, Anthropometric, and Lifestyle Factors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece. Nutrients 2023; 15:4123. [PMID: 37836406 PMCID: PMC10574046 DOI: 10.3390/nu15194123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected several aspects of people's lifestyle worldwide. Healthy dietary patterns and their bioactive components may improve or even co-treat the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in several aspects of people's lifestyle and mental health in daily life. The aim of this survey is to evaluate the potential effect of Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence against COVID-19-induced complications. METHODS This is a cross-sectional survey performed on 3721 adults aged between 18 and 65 years old, which aims to evaluate the potential association of MD adherence with multiple sociodemographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors during the COVID-19 pandemic period. RESULTS This study has supported evidence that elevated MD compliance was independently related to female gender, better economic status, no smoking, increased risk of abdominal obesity, higher physical activity levels, greater prevalence of adequate sleep quality, better quality of life, and reduced probability of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic by adjusting for multiple confounders. CONCLUSIONS MD compliance may improve or even co-treat the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in several aspect of people's lifestyle in daily life. Further research is strongly recommended exploring the possible beneficial effects of the MD against COVID-19 lifestyle complications in daily life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Pavlidou
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
| | - Sousana K Papadopoulou
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Maria Mentzelou
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
| | - Antonios Dakanalis
- Department of Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, 20900 Monza, Italy
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy
| | - Theofanis Vorvolakos
- Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, School of Health Sciences, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Georgios Antasouras
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
| | - Maria Spanoudaki
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Aimilia-Lynn Pandi
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
| | - Aspasia Serdari
- Department of Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Maria Chrysafi
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
| | - Sofia Dimoliani
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
| | - Constantinos Giaginis
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of the Environment, University of the Aegean, 81400 Lemnos, Greece
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Hunter RF, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Fabian C, Murphy N, O'Hara K, Rappe E, Sallis JF, Lambert EV, Duenas OLS, Sugiyama T, Kahlmeier S. Advancing urban green and blue space contributions to public health. Lancet Public Health 2023; 8:e735-e742. [PMID: 37633681 DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(23)00156-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Urban green and blue spaces (UGBS) have the potential to improve public health and wellbeing, address health inequities, and provide co-benefits for the environment, economy, and society. To achieve these ambitions, researchers should engage with communities, practitioners, and policy makers in a virtuous circle of research, policy, implementation, and active citizenship using the principles of co-design, co-implementation, co-evaluation, and co-translation. This Viewpoint provides an integrated perspective on the challenges that hinder the delivery of health-enhancing UGBS and recommendations to address them. Our recommendations include: strengthening the evidence beyond cross-sectional research designs, strengthening the evidence base on UGBS intervention approaches, evaluating the effects on diverse population groups and communities, addressing inequities in the distribution and quality of UGBS, accelerating research on blue space, providing evidence for environmental effects, incorporating co-design approaches, developing innovative modelling methods, fostering whole-system evidence, harnessing political drivers, creating collaborations for sustainable UGBS action, and advancing evidence in low-income and middle-income countries. The full potential of UGBS as public health, social, economic, and environmental assets is yet to be realised. Acting on the research and translation recommendations will aid in addressing these challenges in collaboration with research, policy, practice, and communities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carlo Fabian
- Institute for Social Work and Health, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, Otten, Switzerland
| | - Niamh Murphy
- School of Health Sciences, South East Technological University, Waterford, Ireland
| | - Kelly O'Hara
- Department of Sports Science, University Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - Erja Rappe
- The Age Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - James Fleming Sallis
- Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, California, CA, USA; Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Estelle Victoria Lambert
- Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS), Division of Physiological Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Takemi Sugiyama
- Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sonja Kahlmeier
- Department of Health, Swiss Distance University of Applied Science (FFHS), Zurich, Switzerland
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Ha TV, Asada T, Arimura M. Changes in mobility amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Sapporo City, Japan: An investigation through the relationship between spatiotemporal population density and urban facilities. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES 2023; 17:100744. [PMID: 36590070 PMCID: PMC9790881 DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2022.100744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
By the end of 2021, the Omicron variant of coronavirus disease 2019 had become the dominant cause of a worldwide pandemic crisis. This demands a deeper analysis to support policy makers in creating interventions that not only protect people from the pandemic but also remedy its negative effects on the economy. Thus, this study investigated people's mobility changes through the relationship between spatiotemporal population density and urban facilities. Results showed that places related to daily services, restaurants, commercial areas, and offices experienced decreased visits, with the highest decline belonging to commercial facilities. Visits to health care and production facilities were stable on weekdays but increased on holidays. Educational institutions' visits decreased on weekdays but increased on holidays. People's visits to residential housing and open spaces increased, with the rise in residential housing visits being more substantial. The results also confirmed that policy interventions (e.g., declaration of emergency and upgrade of restriction level) have a great impact on people's mobility in the short term. The findings would seem to indicate that visit patterns at service and restaurant places decreased least during the pandemic. The analysis outcomes suggest that policy makers should pay more attention to risk perception enhancement as a long-term measure. Furthermore, the study clarified the population density of each facility type in a time series. Improving model performance would be promising for tracking and predicting the spread of future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tran Vinh Ha
- Division of Sustainable and Environmental Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, ₸ 050-8585, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Takumi Asada
- Division of Sustainable and Environmental Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, ₸ 050-8585, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Mikiharu Arimura
- Division of Sustainable and Environmental Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, ₸ 050-8585, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
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Xue M, Huang Z, Hu Y, Du J, Gao M, Pan R, Mo Y, Zhong J, Huang Z. Monitoring European data with prospective space-time scan statistics: predicting and evaluating emerging clusters of COVID-19 in European countries. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:2183. [PMID: 36434572 PMCID: PMC9701036 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14298-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic infectious disease and become a serious public health crisis. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, it is of vital importance to detect COVID-19 clusters to better distribute resources and optimizing measures. This study helps the surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic and discovers major space-time clusters of reported cases in European countries. Prospective space-time scan statistics are particularly valuable because it has detected active and emerging COVID-19 clusters. It can prompt public health decision makers when and where to improve targeted interventions, testing locations, and necessary isolation measures, and the allocation of medical resources to reduce further spread. METHODS Using the daily case data of various countries provided by the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we used SaTScan™ 9.6 to conduct a prospective space-time scan statistics analysis. We detected statistically significant space-time clusters of COVID-19 at the European country level between March 1st to October 2nd, 2020 and March 1st to October 2nd, 2021. Using ArcGIS to draw the spatial distribution map of COVID-19 in Europe, showing the emerging clusters that appeared at the end of our study period detected by Poisson prospective space-time scan statistics. RESULTS The results show that among the 49 countries studied, the regions with the largest number of reported cases of COVID-19 are Western Europe, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. Among the 49 countries studied, the country with the largest cumulative number of reported cases is the United Kingdom, followed by Russia, Turkey, France, and Spain. The country (or region) with the lowest cumulative number of reported cases is the Faroe Islands. We discovered 9 emerging clusters, including 21 risky countries. CONCLUSION This result can provide timely information to national public health decision makers. For example, a country needs to improve the allocation of medical resources and epidemic detection points, or a country needs to strengthen entry and exit testing, or a country needs to strengthen the implementation of protective isolation measures. As the data is updated daily, new data can be re-analyzed to achieve real-time monitoring of COVID-19 in Europe. This study uses Poisson prospective space-time scan statistics to monitor COVID-19 in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingjin Xue
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Zhaowei Huang
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Yudi Hu
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Jinlin Du
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China ,grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Pension Industry Research Institute, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong Province Zhanjiang, China
| | - Miao Gao
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Ronglin Pan
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Yuqian Mo
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Jinlin Zhong
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China
| | - Zhigang Huang
- grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province China ,grid.410560.60000 0004 1760 3078Pension Industry Research Institute, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong Province Zhanjiang, China
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Wang P, Zheng X, Liu H. Simulation and forecasting models of COVID-19 taking into account spatio-temporal dynamic characteristics: A review. Front Public Health 2022; 10:1033432. [PMID: 36330112 PMCID: PMC9623320 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1033432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 epidemic has caused more than 6.4 million deaths to date and has become a hot topic of interest in different disciplines. According to bibliometric analysis, more than 340,000 articles have been published on the COVID-19 epidemic from the beginning of the epidemic until recently. Modeling infectious diseases can provide critical planning and analytical tools for outbreak control and public health research, especially from a spatio-temporal perspective. However, there has not been a comprehensive review of the developing process of spatio-temporal dynamic models. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of these spatio-temporal dynamic models for dealing with COVID-19, focusing on the different model scales. We first summarized several data used in the spatio-temporal modeling of the COVID-19, and then, through literature review and summary, we found that the existing COVID-19 spatio-temporal models can be divided into two categories: macro-dynamic models and micro-dynamic models. Typical representatives of these two types of models are compartmental and metapopulation models, cellular automata (CA), and agent-based models (ABM). Our results show that the modeling results are not accurate enough due to the unavailability of the fine-grained dataset of COVID-19. Furthermore, although many models have been developed, many of them focus on short-term prediction of disease outbreaks and lack medium- and long-term predictions. Therefore, future research needs to integrate macroscopic and microscopic models to build adaptive spatio-temporal dynamic simulation models for the medium and long term (from months to years) and to make sound inferences and recommendations about epidemic development in the context of medical discoveries, which will be the next phase of new challenges and trends to be addressed. In addition, there is still a gap in research on collecting fine-grained spatial-temporal big data based on cloud platforms and crowdsourcing technologies to establishing world model to battle the epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peipei Wang
- School of Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xinqi Zheng
- School of Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
- Technology Innovation Center for Territory Spatial Big-Data, MNR of China, Beijing, China
| | - Haiyan Liu
- School of Economic and Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
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Kim UR, Sung H. Urban parks as a potential mitigator of suicide rates resulting from global pandemics: Empirical evidence from past experiences in Seoul, Korea. CITIES (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2022; 127:103725. [PMID: 35530723 PMCID: PMC9066293 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2022.103725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Globally, the increased suicide rate of the general population has become a concern not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because of its associated socioeconomic insecurity, loss of jobs, and economic shocks. This study employed robust fixed-effects panel models to empirically identify the mitigating effects of infectious diseases, via urban parks, on the suicide rate, and to examine gender differences in this regard, based on previous experiences in Seoul, Korea. We found that the differentiating mitigating effect did not significantly affect suicide rates during the 2015 MERS epidemic. However, during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, wherein the number of confirmed cases was very high and diffused nationwide, urban parks significantly reduced the suicide rates for both men and women. The role of parks as a mitigator was more enhanced in cities with a high number of confirmed cases if it was associated with economic shocks. However, this effect was significant only in the suicide rates of men, not women. During a pandemic, urban parks can help maintain social interaction and sustain physical activities (i.e., walking and exercise) while maintaining physical distance. National and local governments should develop urban parks to actively control the suicide rate influenced by movement restriction measures inevitably occurring during the spread of infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- U-Ram Kim
- Department of Urban and Regional Development, Graudate School of Urban Studies, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
- Center for Housing Policy Research, Seoul Metropolitan Government, 04514, Korea
| | - Hyungun Sung
- Department of Urban and Regional Development, Graudate School of Urban Studies, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
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Methods Used in the Spatial and Spatiotemporal Analysis of COVID-19 Epidemiology: A Systematic Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19148267. [PMID: 35886114 PMCID: PMC9324591 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic was spatially heterogeneous around the world; the transmission of the disease is driven by complex spatial and temporal variations in socioenvironmental factors. Spatial tools are useful in supporting COVID-19 control programs. A substantive review of the merits of the methodological approaches used to understand the spatial epidemiology of the disease is hardly undertaken. In this study, we reviewed the methodological approaches used to identify the spatial and spatiotemporal variations of COVID-19 and the socioeconomic, demographic and climatic drivers of such variations. We conducted a systematic literature search of spatial studies of COVID-19 published in English from Embase, Scopus, Medline, and Web of Science databases from 1 January 2019 to 7 September 2021. Methodological quality assessments were also performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) risk of bias tool. A total of 154 studies met the inclusion criteria that used frequentist (85%) and Bayesian (15%) modelling approaches to identify spatial clusters and the associated risk factors. Bayesian models in the studies incorporated various spatial, temporal and spatiotemporal effects into the modelling schemes. This review highlighted the need for more local-level advanced Bayesian spatiotemporal modelling through the multi-level framework for COVID-19 prevention and control strategies.
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Sung H, Kim WR, Oh J, Lee S, Lee PSH. Are All Urban Parks Robust to the COVID-19 Pandemic? Focusing on Type, Functionality, and Accessibility. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19106062. [PMID: 35627599 PMCID: PMC9141827 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19106062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Many people visited urban parks during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the negative effects of lack of physical activity, social isolation, anxiety, and depression. It is unclear whether all parks are robust against the pandemic, helping people sustain healthy daily living through the diverse activities within them. Nevertheless, few studies have identified the specific relationship between park visits and the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to demonstrate how physical features such as type, functionality, and access influenced daily visiting to parks during the pandemic, using mobile phone data at a micro level. This study first classified urban parks as point-type parks with an area of less than 1 ha, plane-type parks with 1 ha or more, and line-type parks with elongated shapes, while measuring accessibility to residential, employment, transportation, and auxiliary facilities within the park. The study employed the multi-level regression model with random intercept to investigate the effects of differing park visits, focusing on Goyang city, South Korea. Our analysis results identified that easy access from home was more important than the park size during the pandemic. If we look at the types of parks, the use of both plane- and point-type parks increased more than that of line-type parks. However, line-type parks near homes, along with shopping and sports facilities, were found to be more robust to the pandemic. These findings can be informative to provide specific guidelines to fulfill the enhanced role of parks in sustaining public health during an infectious disease pandemic that may strike again.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyungun Sung
- Department of Urban and Regional Development, Graduate School of Urban Studies, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea; (H.S.); (W.-R.K.); (J.O.)
| | - Woo-Ram Kim
- Department of Urban and Regional Development, Graduate School of Urban Studies, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea; (H.S.); (W.-R.K.); (J.O.)
| | - Jiyeon Oh
- Department of Urban and Regional Development, Graduate School of Urban Studies, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea; (H.S.); (W.-R.K.); (J.O.)
| | - Samsu Lee
- Land and Housing Institute, Daejeon 34047, Korea;
| | - Peter Sang-Hoon Lee
- Department of Urban and Regional Development, Graduate School of Urban Studies, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea; (H.S.); (W.-R.K.); (J.O.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-10-3327-1615
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Effectiveness of Human Mobility Change in Reducing the Spread of COVID-19: Ecological Study of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14063368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Non-pharmacological interventions including mobility restriction have been developed to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We provided precise estimates of disease burden and examined the impact of mobility restriction on reducing the COVID-19 effective reproduction number in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study involved secondary analysis of open-access COVID-19 data obtained from different sources between 2 March and 26 December 2020. The dependent and main independent variables of interest were the effective reproduction number and anonymized mobility indices, respectively. Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between the community mobility change and the effective reproduction number for COVID-19. By 26 December 2020, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia reached 360,690, with a cumulative incidence rate of 105.41/10,000 population. Al Jouf, Northern Border, and Jazan regions were ≥2.5 times (OR = 2.93; 95% CI: 1.29–6.64), (OR = 2.50; 95% CI: 1.08–5.81), and (OR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.09–5.79) more likely to have a higher case fatality rate than Riyadh, the capital. Mobility changes in public and residential areas were significant predictors of the COVID-19 effective reproduction number. This study demonstrated that community mobility restrictions effectively control transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
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COVID-19 Mortality in Europe, by Latitude and Obesity Status: A Geo-Spatial Analysis in 40 Countries. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14030471. [PMID: 35276831 PMCID: PMC8839557 DOI: 10.3390/nu14030471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a public health emergency of international concern and later characterized it as a pandemic. New data show that excess body mass and vitamin D deficiency might be related to the disease severity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether latitude, as a proxy of sunlight exposure and Vitamin D synthesis, and prevalent obesity among European populations, is related to COVID-19 spread and severity. European COVID-19 data (incidence and fatality), including information on the prevalence of obesity, social distancing, and others were obtained by the "Our World in Data" website on 17 April 2021. Adjusted analysis showed that higher COVID-19 incidence and fatality were pictured in countries being in higher latitude, both during the whole period, as well as, during the time period 1 November 2020-31 March 2021. Higher incidence and fatality of COVID-19 were observed where the prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher during the whole time period, whereas during the time period 1 November 2020-31 March 2021, only COVID-19 incidence was higher but not a fatality. The present results provide insights for targeted interventions and preventive strategies against COVID-19.
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Heckert M, Bristowe A. Parks and the Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Research on Green Infrastructure Use and Health Outcomes during COVID-19. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:13096. [PMID: 34948705 PMCID: PMC8701349 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182413096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Revised: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Green infrastructure (GI) has long been known to impact human health, and many academics have used past research to argue for the potential importance of GI as a mechanism for maintaining or improving health within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This scoping review addresses the question: What evidence, if any, have researchers found of a relationship between green infrastructure use and health during the COVID-19 pandemic? Specifically, evaluating the (a) association of GI use with COVID-19 disease outcomes and (b) association of GI use with other health outcomes as impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-two studies were identified that measured GI use and studied it in relation to health outcomes during the pandemic. The studies were reviewed for the specific measures and types of GI use, level of analysis, specific types of health outcomes, and the conclusions reached with regard to GI use and health. Studies exploring COVID-19-specific health outcomes showed mixed results, while non-COVID health outcomes were more consistently improved through GI use, particularly with regard to improved mental health. While the evidence strongly suggests that GI use has played a protective role in non-COVID-19 physical and mental health during the pandemic, questions remain with regard to possible impacts on COVID transmission and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Heckert
- Department of Geography and Planning, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383, USA;
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