Health Reports, April 2022

Released: 2022-04-20

The April 2022 issue of Health Reports contains three articles.

Behaviours of some Canadians during the pandemic increase their risk for chronic disease

Behaviours that are risk factors for chronic disease, such as screen use and consumption of junk food and alcohol, increased among some Canadians during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article "Changes in chronic disease risk factors and current exercise habits among Canadian adults living with and without a child during the COVID-19 pandemic" found that these behaviours were more likely among Canadian adults living with a child.

Survey participants were asked about their health behaviours in March, May and July 2020. Adults living with a child under 18 years of age were more likely to report increased alcohol consumption at all three time points. They also reported increased consumption of junk food and sweets in late March, and increased time on the Internet in late March and mid-July 2020.

Regardless of the presence of a child in the household, younger adults (aged 25 to 54) were more likely to demonstrate increases in these behavioural chronic disease risk factors, compared with older adults (aged 55 and older).

Younger age and visible minority status associated with increased likelihood of past COVID-19 infection during second and third waves

The Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey is the first of its kind to provide national-level information about the seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection (proportion of individuals who have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies due to a past infection, measured by a blood test) among people living in private households in Canada. The study "COVID-19 infection in the Canadian household population" examined associations between a past COVID-19 infection and characteristics of Canadians, including gender, during the second and third waves of the pandemic, from November 2020 to April 2021.

This study found that younger age and visible minority status were associated with an increased likelihood of being seropositive for a past COVID-19 infection. For males, having a visible minority status, having less education, and living in a multi-unit dwelling increased the likelihood of being seropositive. Females were more likely to have been seropositive if they worked in health care in direct contact with others.

Stopping the transmission of COVID-19 continues to be a public health priority. Understanding past patterns in COVID-19 infection and identifying who was at increased risk can help inform ongoing and future policy.

20 years of data on eye health

Until recently, eye health had been under studied compared with other aspects of health. The article "Self-reported eye health in Canada: 20 years of data" fills this gap by examining data on eye health from the Canadian Community Health Survey collected from 2000 to 2020.

Self-reported eye health generally improved from 2000 to 2020 for all ages, except for Canadians aged 20 to 39 years. The percentage of the population with self-reported good vision without correction consistently decreased with age. In 2020, about 75% of youths aged 12 to 19 reported having good vision without correction, compared with about 25% among Canadians aged 55 and older. For every year that was included in the study and for all age groups, fewer females than males reported having good vision without correction.

The proportion of uncorrected vision problems was negligible before age 55 and increased thereafter, to reach about 8% at the oldest age group of 80 years and older. None of the potential covariates (immigrant status, highest level of education in the household, or income quintile) showed any effects on those patterns.

Products

The articles "Changes in chronic disease risk factors and current exercise habits among Canadian adults living with and without a child during the COVID-19 pandemic" , " Self-reported eye health in Canada: 20 years of data" and "COVID-19 infection in the Canadian household population" are now available in the April 2022 online issue of Health Reports, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Catalogue number82-003-X).

Contact information

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