Health behaviour and well-being in the Faroe Islands prior to and during the first COVID-19 lockdown

Abstract Detrimental effects on health and well-being were reported during the COVID-19-induced lockdown periods in several countries, but these associations have not been studied in small-scale island societies. This study aimed to examine the lockdown period’s impact on health behaviour, social media use and measures of well-being in the Faroe Islands. We used cross-sectional data from two extensive population-based surveys of public health conducted in November 2019, the pre-COVID survey (n = 2906), and 4-6 weeks into the first national lockdown, the lockdown survey (n = 1204). A larger proportion of participants in the lockdown vs. pre-COVID survey people reported high physical activity levels (42.1 vs 30.7% p < 0.001), while nutritional habits were rated worse and social media usage increased. Furthermore, the proportion displaying excellent/very good self-rated health was larger in the lockdown vs. pre-COVID survey (68.1 vs 62.0% p < 0.001), and the same pattern was observed for reporting good quality of life (85.7 vs 82.7% p < 0.05). These associations remained statistically significant in a logistic regression model after adjusting for characteristics for which varying impact of the pandemic has been shown. Indicators of health behaviour showed that larger proportions of participants kept active during the lockdown vs pre-COVID survey, and these differences were statistically significant for physical, mental, and spiritual activities (p < 0.001). On the other hand, similar stress levels in the pre-COVID/lockdown periods were observed, but stratified analysis showed that participants with a high-stress level displayed better self-rated health in the lockdown period compared to the pre-COVID period (p = 0.001). Conclusions Findings indicate that self-reported health and quality of life improved during the early phase of the COVID lockdown, and individuals reported higher activity levels associated with good mental health during the COVID-19-induced lockdown period. Key messages • Physical activity improved, but dietary habits worsened during initial COVID-19 lockdown in the Faroe Islands. • Measures of wellbeing and quality of life improved during initial COVID-19 lockdown in the Faroe Islands, while there was no overall difference regarding stress levels.