Regular physical activity may reduce Covid risk, study finds | Coronavirus

Regular exercise reduces the risk of developing Covid-19 or becoming seriously ill, with about 20 minutes of exercise a day having the greatest effect, global data show. suggested by the analysis.

Regular physical activity is associated with reduced risk of Covid-19 infection, severity, hospitalization and death, according to new pooled data analysis of available evidence Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Research suggests that a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week appears to provide the best protection.

“Regular physical activity appears to be associated with a lower likelihood of adverse Covid-19 outcomes,” wrote a team of Spanish researchers. People who are physically active are more likely to have Sars-CoV-2 infection, Covid-19 hospitalization, severe Covid-19 illness, and Covid-19-related disease than physically inactive people, regardless of their design. It became clear that the probability of death was low.The instrument used.”

Experts know that regular exercise can help prevent severe respiratory infections.

Regular physical activity has been associated with a range of health benefits, including a reduced incidence of risk factors for adverse Covid-19 outcomes such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

However, the researchers say the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations of the analysis.

Previous research suggests that physical activity can reduce both the risk and severity of respiratory infections, at least in part through its ability to strengthen the immune system.

The relationship between regular physical activity and the severity of Covid-19 is not well understood, but it probably involves both metabolic and environmental factors, researchers say, suggesting that the We attempted to quantify the threshold of physical activity required and associated hospitalizations and deaths.

They searched major research databases for relevant studies published between November 2019 and March 2022. We pooled 16 results from the initial 291.

The study included a total of 1.8 million adults, just over half (54%) of whom were women. The average age of the participants she was 53 years old. Most of the studies were observational studies and were conducted in South Korea, United Kingdom, Iran, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Palestine, South Africa and Sweden.

Pooled data analysis showed that overall, those who included regular physical activity in their weekly routine had an 11% lower risk of contracting Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid.

They also had a 36% lower risk of hospitalization, a 44% lower risk of serious illness from Covid-19, and a 43% lower risk of death from Covid-19 compared to physically inactive people. was low.

Maximum protective effect occurred at approximately 500 metabolic equivalents (MET) minutes per week, with no further improvement thereafter.

METS measures the amount of energy (calories) expended in one minute of physical activity. 500 of them correspond to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity.

The researchers cautioned that the analysis involved observational studies, different study designs, subjective assessments of physical activity levels, and concerned only Beta and Delta variants of Sars-CoV-2, not Omicron. Did.

The researchers said their findings had a plausible biological explanation. Regular moderate-intensity exercise may help improve the body’s anti-inflammatory response, cardiopulmonary function and muscle strength, all of which may explain its beneficial effects on his Covid-19 severity. they suggest.

“Our findings highlight the protective effects of engaging in sufficient physical activity as a public health strategy, with potential benefits in reducing the risk of severe Covid-19,” they wrote. “Given the risk of heterogeneity and publication bias, further studies with standardized methodologies and reporting of results are now needed.”