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Exercise addiction, body dysmorphic disorder, and use of enhancement drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic confinement period: A transcultural study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

A.R. Dores ,
I. Carvalho ,
J. Burkauskas ,
V. Beretta ,
K. Ioannidis ,
P. Simonato ,
A. Gomez ,
Z. Demetrovics ,
H. Fujiwara  and
S. Chamberlain
...Show all authors
A.R. Dores*
Affiliation:
Center For Rehabilitation Research (ess-p.porto), School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal Laboratory Of Neuropsychophysiology (fpceup); Center For Rehabilitation Research (ess-p.porto), Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences; School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal
I. Carvalho
Affiliation:
Clinical Neurosciences And Mental Health And Cintesis, School of Medicine, University of Porto,, Porto, Portugal
J. Burkauskas
Affiliation:
Neuromokslų Instituto Palangos Klinika, Neuromokslų Instituto Palangos Klinika, Palanga, Lithuania
V. Beretta
Affiliation:
Center For Rehabilitation Research (ess-p.porto), School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal
K. Ioannidis
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge,, -, United Kingdom
P. Simonato
Affiliation:
Parco Dei Tigli, Casa di Cura “Parco dei Tigli”, Teolo, Italy
A. Gomez
Affiliation:
-----, Pontifical University of Salamanca, -, Spain
Z. Demetrovics
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychology, ELTE Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
H. Fujiwara
Affiliation:
-----, Kyoto University, Japan
S. Chamberlain
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
N. Fineberg
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge,, -, United Kingdom
F. Barbosa
Affiliation:
Laboratory Of Neuropsychophysiology, Faculty Of Psychology And Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
O. Corazza
Affiliation:
Department Of Clinical And Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The Coronavirus pandemic has originated unprecedented sanitary control measures that have conditioned people’s lifestyles and habits. Little is known about the impact of such measures, especially the most restrictive, on recent and growing phenomena such as exercise addiction, use of enhancement drugs, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

Objectives

The objective was to investigate the above-mentioned phenomena during COVID-19 pandemic and how they relate.

Methods

The sample consisted of 3161 participants (65% women), from Portugal (11%), Italy (41%), Spain (16%), the UK (12%), Lithuania (12%), Japan (6%), and Hungary (4%). Mean age was 35.05 (SD = 12.10). Participants responded online to the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI), the Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI), and questions about use of enhancement drugs.

Results

4.3% of the participants scored above the cut-off point of the EAI, with higher values registered in the UK and Spain. Exercise addiction was higher among men. Appearance anxiety and body satisfaction problems were found in participants of all participating countries, with 15.2% scoring over the cut-off point for BDD. Higher numbers of those at risk of BDD were found in Italy, Japan, and Portugal. About 29% reported the use of fitness supplements to make them look better, with 6.4% starting a new use during the lockdown. Change in supplements use and exercise are predicted by EAI scores. Change in mental health is predicted by AAI scores.

Conclusions

This study helps to shed light on how COVID-19 lookdown induced behavioral changes and how they affect physical and mental health-related aspects in different countries.

Keywords

COVID-19Exercise Addictionbody dysmorphic disorderUse of Enhancement Drugs
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S290 - S291
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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