Behavioral Risk Factors and Adherence to Preventive Measures: Evidence From the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Behavioral risk factors, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, obesity, and unhealthy food intake are added risk factors for severe outcomes of COVID-19 infections. Preventive measures to avoid infections are therefore particularly important for individuals engaging in behavioral risk factors. We seek to determine whether behavioral risk factors (BRFs) play a significant role in the adherence to preventive COVID-19 measures in a population aged 50 and above. The SHARE wave 8 (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) and SHARE COVID-19 Survey served as the database, resulting in an analytical sample of 17,588 respondents from 23 European countries plus Israel. Of these 36.04% engaged in at least one BRF and 16.68% engaged in 3 or more BRFs. Multilevel logistic regressions revealed that engagement in one BRF was significantly associated with less adherence to hygiene preventive measures, i.e., hand-sanitizing, hand-washing and covering coughs and sneezes (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78; 0.94), as was engagement in two BRFs (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74; 0.97) and three or more BRFs (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.59; 0.88). No such association was found between engagement in BRFs and adherences to social isolation preventive measures, i.e., avoiding meeting more than five people, visiting others or going shopping, or regulated preventive measures, i.e., wearing a mask and keeping physical distance. The found association was also stronger when three or more BRFs were engaged in (1 vs. 3 BRFs: χ(2) = 3.43, p = 0.06; 2 vs. 3 BRFs: χ(2) = 6.05; p = 0.01). The study gives insight into the protective behavior of a population with inherent vulnerability during a global health emergency. It lays the foundation for follow-up research about the evolution of adherence to preventive measures as the pandemic progresses and about long-term behavioral changes. In addition, it can aide efforts in increasing preventive compliance by raising awareness of the added risk behavioral risk factors pose.