Physical activity may reduce severity of COVID-19 infection

New evidence is building up on the fact that physical activity is beneficial and reduces the severity of COVID-19 outcomes. There is still a knowledge gap in this context.

People who were physically active before COVID-19 infection may have a lower prevalence of chronic conditions predisposing to adverse outcomes. There needs to be specific data on the association of physical activity with less severe results in people with no history of chronic diseases.

Against the above background, a study was conducted by Dr Deborah Rohm Young and colleagues to determine the association of physical activity with severe COVID-19 outcomes in a dose/response fashion.

The summary points of this retrospective cohort study are:

• The study included 194,191 adults with a positive history of COVID-19 diagnosed between January 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021.
• The median of at least three physical activity self-reports was the exposure before diagnosis.
• The categories of the Patients were always inactive, with all assessments at 10 minutes/week or less; mostly inactive, 0–60 minutes per week (median); some activity, 60–150 minutes per week (median); consistently active, median>150 minutes per week; and always active, all assessments>150 minutes per week.
• Outcomes were Hospitalization, deterioration event, or death after 90 days were the outcomes measured.
• 6.3% of adults were hospitalized.
• 3.1% of adults had a deterioration event.
• 2.8% of participants died within 90 days of COVID-19 diagnosis.
• Dose-response effects were strong;
• There were higher odds of Hospitalization, deterioration, and death in patients in some activity category with OR of 1.43, 1.83 and 1.92, respectively.
• The results were consistent across sex, race and ethnicity, age, BMI categories and patients with heart disease or high BP.

To conclude, COVID-19 vaccination and physical activity are essential strategies to reduce the severity of COVID-19.

Further reading:

Young, Deborah Rohm, et al. “Associations of Physical Inactivity and COVID-19 Outcomes Among Subgroups.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Elsevier BV, Dec. 2022. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.10.007.