Investigation of the relationship between the fear of Covid-19 and orthorexia nervosa of the staff working in the pandemic hospital

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the whole world and has caused global social, psychological and economic problems. The aim of this study is to determine the changes in the nutritional habits of the staff working in the pandemic hospital and to examine the relationship between the fear of Covid-19 and Orthorexia Nervosa (p=0,019). This cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 and April 2022 by Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener Emergency Hospital. Participants were asked to fill out a six-part questionnaire. SPSS 22,0 program was used in the analysis of the data. 141 participants were female and 117 were male, with a mean age of 29,7±8 years. 52.7% of the participants received outpatient or inpatient treatment with the diagnosis of Covid-19. The rate of those who were afraid of catching Covid-19 was found to be 66.3%. During the pandemic process, an increase in healthy eating behaviors was observed in 35.3% of the participants. The Orto-11 scale mean score of the participants was 26.3±5, and the rate of those in the orthorexic group was 27.5%. A statistically sgnificant difference was found between those who are afraid of catching Covid-19 and Orthorexia Nervosa (p=0,019). Changes in the lifestyles of individuals due to the fear of Covid-19 have also reflected on their eating habits. Examining the changing nutritional behaviours and orthorexic tendencies within the long-term effects of the pandemic is important in terms of evaluating the future prevalence of ortorexia nervosa. Key words: Fear of Covid-19, healtcare workers, nutrition during the pandemic, orthorexia nervosa, eating disorders