Racial disparities in lifestyle habits and dietary patterns in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives To evaluate lifestyle habits and dietary patterns among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic and their association with skin color. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1315 undergraduate students from a public higher education institution. Sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, and food consumption were collected. Factor analysis was used to identify dietary patterns and multivariate logistic regression was conducted to estimate the associations between race/skin color and outcomes. Results Black individuals were less likely to show behaviors associated with the use of cigarettes or tobacco products (OR = 0.61; 95% CI 0.42−0.89). However, black individuals with higher income (greater than, or equal to one minimum wage per person) were less likely to show behaviors associated with illicit drug use (OR = 0.54; 95% CI 0.31−0.96), use of cigarettes or tobacco products (OR = 0.46; 95% CI 0.24−0.87) and alcohol consumption (OR = 0.64; CI 95% 0.42−0.98). In addition, individuals of race/skin color black with lower income (less than one minimum wage per person) showed decreased consumption of vegetables (OR = 0.68; CI 95% 0.48−0.96). Conclusions Black college students with higher income were less likely to show undesirable behaviors related to the use of psychoactive substances. In contrast, individuals with lower income had lower consumption of foods from the vegetable group, which can be considered an unfavorable health-related behavior.