STADA Health Report 2022: Europeans worried about flu season

According to a health survey by the company Stada, which included over 30,000 respondents in 15 countries, including Serbia, increased fear of any type of viral infection is one of the consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Cold autumn days open the cold and flu season. But two years after the Covid pandemic, many Europeans feel uneasy even at the mention of viral infections, so they fear both new mutations of the corona virus and other, similar infections.

A third of respondents prefer masks

In Serbia, the results of Stada’s survey show that 45% of citizens intend to keep their distance as a measure of protection against respiratory infections, 36% will continue to regularly disinfect their hands, and a third will wear a mask every day.

Although masks are no longer a mandatory means of protection in most countries, they are also highly preferred among Spaniards 52%, Portuguese 44% and Italians 41%.

According to the survey, nowadays, 43% of Europeans are worried about how the environment will react if they sneeze or cough in public. This concern is particularly present among Austrians (55%), Portuguese (53%) and Serbs (52%), while Germans (39%) and even less Spaniards (30%) care less about other people's opinions on this issue.

Serbs love food supplements

Guided by the saying ‘prevention is better than cure’, Europeans most often take vitamin and mineral supplements to strengthen the immune system and avoid coughing, sneezing or fever.

Food supplements, if taken regularly and in the recommended dose, can certainly support boosting the body's defenses. Stada's research shows that vitamin and mineral preparations are the most popular in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Women, 54%, use them more often than men, 44%.

Citizens of Serbia lead the way in favor of nutritional supplements, and as many as 69% of them take preparations to strengthen the immune system. They are followed by Czechs 66%, Romanians 64% and Poles 59%.

Germans 26%, French 26%, Dutch 24%, Belgians 23%, Austrians 22% are less inclined to this kind of prevention. However, just under a fifth (18%) of European adults say they do not take any type of nutritional supplement.

When it comes to natural medicines and herbal preparations, only 26% of Europeans use them in defense against viral infections. The research also showed in this case that the biggest supporters of natural medicines are the citizens of Romania 45% and Serbia 41%.

For the ninth year in a row, the multinational corporation Stada is organizing a public opinion poll of the European population regarding health habits and attitudes towards health. The Stada Health Report for 2022 covers 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.