Insufficient Workplace Infection Control and Unhealthy Lifestyle Behaviors Are Related to Poor Self-Rated Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: This study investigated whether workers who practiced unhealthy lifestyles but worked under organizations with insufficient control against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) would pose a synergistic risk of poor self-rated health (SRH).Methods A total of 22,637 workers (men, 48.5%) were extracted from an online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan (December 2020). Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate adjusted odds ratio (AOR) against poor (poor, fair) SRH. Results: Accumulation of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors (AOR, 1.49 to 4.40; P < 0.05) and insufficient infection control (AOR, 1.80; P < 0.05) were independently related to poor SRH; however, when these factors were combined, SRH was additively worsened (AOR, 2.14 to 7.72; P < 0.05). Conclusions: This study highlights that not only unhealthy lifestyle practices but also poor organizational management against infection would worsen workers' SRH during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

This study found that unhealthy lifestyles and insufficient infection control measures have negative impacts on workers' self-rated health (SRH), and the combination of these factors further worsens the impact.