COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in wellness behavior among older Americans

BMC Public Health

Table 5 Changes in self-reported health variables pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 by minority and non-minority adults ages 40–100 in the U.S

Population	Health variable	Pandemic condition						Paired-sample t test		Effect size^b
		Pre-pandemic		Pandemic		Change		Paired-sample t test		Effect size^b
		Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	t	Significant at α = 0.05?^a	d	Label
Minority	Physical activity	3.48	1.63	3.02	1.73	−0.46	1.32	18.0	Yes	0.35	Small
	Food security	6.78	2.12	7.13	2.21	0.36	1.59	−11.7	Yes	−0.23	Small
	Nutrition	52.3	11.7	51.7	12.0	−0.57	7.00	4.16	Yes	0.08	–
	Quality-of-life	2.24	5.64	3.11	6.11	0.86	5.01	−8.85	Yes	−0.17	–
Non-minority White	Physical activity	3.38	1.71	2.99	1.78	−0.39	1.13	29.9	Yes	0.35	Small
	Food security	7.22	1.91	7.40	1.94	0.18	1.21	−12.9	Yes	−0.15	–
	Nutrition	51.1	11.7	50.7	11.9	−0.41	5.72	6.18	Yes	0.07	–
	Quality-of-life	3.15	6.56	3.43	6.41	0.28	5.04	−4.68	Yes	−0.06	–

^aMinority n = 2629, df = 2638; non-minority n = 7330, df = 7329; 2-tailed test. All tests would also have been significant at α = 0.001
^bCohen’s d [40] using the common interpretive categories (small, medium, large)

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