HEALTH AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF UKRAINIANS DURING A FULL-SCALE WAR WITH RUSSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2522-1795.2024.18.3.14Keywords:
physical health, mental health, physical activity, stress, depression, PTSD, pain, warAbstract
Objective – to investigate the effects of war in Ukraine on the physical activity and health of the population. Material. The survey was conducted in 2023 in two stages. The study involved 572 participants, and data from 394 questionnaires were analysed. The respondents were 311 women and 84 men aged 18 to 76 years (mean age: 35.2±13,0 years). 66.2% of respondents were in Ukraine at the time of the survey, including 9.9% of internally displaced persons. 33.8% of the respondents were outside Ukraine. The study included assessment methods for PTSD symptoms, depression, stress perception, stress resistance, pain level, sleep disturbance, physical activity level, physical fitness, and a general factors questionnaire. Results. Analysis of the distribution of participants according to various criteria in absolute and relative values allowed us to determine the level of physical and mental health of Ukrainians. Symptoms of PTSD and depression are more common among women. After 1.5 years of full-scale war, symptoms of PTSD and depression, stress resilience decreased, but the perception of stress increased. After the outbreak of full-scale war, more than half of Ukrainians reported sleep problems, panic attacks became more frequent, and the number of acute respiratory and chronic diseases increased. Ukrainians began to experience pain in various parts of the body more frequently, although 1.5 years after the start of full-scale war, the pain became chronic for most. Conclusions. The general state of physical and mental health of Ukrainians has deteriorated significantly since the outbreak of full-scale war by Russia against Ukraine. These effects are interdependent, and in the next article we will consider the effects of war-related stress on the health and physical activity of Ukrainians.
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