Association of psychological and financial distress with physical activity among Hispanic/Latino populations during the COVID-19 lockdowns in the United States

We examined the links between COVID-19-related concerns, psychological distress, material hardship, and physical activity (PA) among Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S. during the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from 243 participants in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), collected between January and July 2021. Participants underwent phone interviews assessing COVID-19 concerns, psychological distress via the PHQ-4, and material hardship. PA was measured with wrist-worn accelerometers over seven days, tracking total activity counts/day, active minutes/day, and activity fragmentation (active-to-sedentary transition probability, ASTP). We used regression models adjusted for demographic, behavioral, and health covariates. Participants (mean age = 62; 67% female) showed high psychological distress (63%) and material hardship (33%), with 39% reporting COVID-19 concerns. Concerns were linked to lower total activity counts (β = −231, 95% CI: [−459, −3]) and active minutes/day (β = −42.1, 95% CI: [−76.7, −7.4]) in adjusted models. While ASTP was higher among individuals with COVID-19 concerns, this association diminished after full adjustment. No significant links were found between material hardship or distress and PA. COVID-19-related concerns were associated with reduced and fragmented physical activity, suggesting that addressing psychosocial stressors may help improve health behaviors in this population during public health emergencies.