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According to a new study, weekly recommended amounts of physical activity offer another potential benefit. People who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 after regular exercise are less likely to experience more serious COVID-19 results.
Importantly, even those who couldn’t practically exercise more than 150 minutes a week still experienced significant benefits compared to those who said they exercised less than 10 minutes.
Patients with COVID-19 who were “consistently inactive” were 226% more likely to be hospitalized and more likely to be hospitalized than those who were most active in the study (those who exercised more than 150 minutes each week). Was 173% higher. It is an ICU and has a 149% increased chance of dying in this study.
“We strongly believe that the results of this study represent clear and practical guidelines that people around the world can use to reduce the risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes, including death,” the study author said. Said Dr. Deborah Roam Young. Medscape Medical News.
The· Research Published online on April 13th British Journal of Sports Medicine.
A little exercise is very helpful
A more realistic strategy could have a greater overall impact, said Dr. Los Angeles, PT, who is not involved in the study. Medscape Medical News When asked to comment. “How many sedentary people can be seen jumping into more than 150 minutes of physical activity a week?” A more effective message might be:
“Your dog’s walk is physically active,” said the professor.
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Illinois, Chicago University of Applied Health Sciences.
“You don’t have to run a marathon or go to the gym and run on a treadmill for 60 minutes a day, which is great,” he said.
Young colleagues die, for example, inactive groups are 120% more likely to be hospitalized, 110% more likely to require critical care hospitalization, compared to those who reported 11-149 minutes of exercise each week. ..
Categorizing 11 to 149 minutes of physical activity per week “is fairly broad and there is probably a way to tease it more,” said the arena.
“I’m hoping to hear the message that a little exercise will help a lot and take action,” said Young, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Research and Evaluation Bureau in Pasadena.
Benefits of moving
So what is the connection? Regular exercise can improve immune function. “I’ve long known that immune function is improved by regular physical activity. People who are active on a regular basis are less likely to have an incidence, symptom intensity, and death from a viral infection,” Young said. It was.
Additional benefits include increased vital capacity and improved cardiovascular and muscle function, “may help reduce the adverse effects of COVID-19,” she said.
“Simply put, exercise is medicine. As expected for those who meet the guidelines for physical activity, the stress of COVID-19 that affects if baseline cardiac and lung function is good. It’s natural to be able to withstand the factors. Many physical systems. ” Monica Verduscogtierres, MD, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation at the UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine in Texas, said. Medscape Medical News.
For more information, Young, lead author Robert Sallis, and colleagues evaluated 48,440 adults on the Kaiser Permanente system. Between January 1st and October 21st, 2020, the COVID-19 test or diagnosis was positive, respectively. The average age was 47 years and 62% were women.
The researchers also requested patients to have at least three outpatient visits with exercise evaluation between March 19, 2018 and March 19, 2020.The majority of participants belonged to the “some physical activity” category, with only 6.4% of meetings Recommended level of physical activity in the United States And another 14.4% is consistently inactive.
Higher odds for bad results
People with COVID-19 who reported less than 10 minutes of physical activity per week were at increased risk of hospitalization compared to the most active group that met the guidelines (odds ratio 2.25; 95% confidence interval 1.81 to 2.83). COVID-19 also increased the likelihood of requiring admission to the ICU (OR 1.73; 95% CI, 1.18 to 2.55) and death (OR 2.49; 95% CI 1.33 to 4.67).
In addition, patients who are not consistently active compared to some physical activity groups are hospitalized (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.32) and admitted to the ICU (OR 1.10; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.29). ) Was also high. Death from COVID-19 (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.60).
“I didn’t expect the odds ratio to be as strong as we found, especially after managing the known risk factors for COVID-19. obesity Status “. She and her colleagues also adjusted for other underlying conditions, age, gender, race, and smoking status.
“It’s a great study,” said the arena. “It is based on this evidence of rapid growth during the COVID pandemic era, where lifestyle is very important. Leading a healthy lifestyle is not only from chronic diseases, but also from complications from viral infections. I will protect you.”
Previous studies have pointed out similar benefits between physical activity and COVID-19 results. A Research First published as a preprint in May 2020, it evaluated how lifestyle and other factors affect the UK Biobank survey of 387,109 adults in the UK. .. These researchers also found that physical activity is a very strong predictor of less serious complications of COVID-19.
Another research group demonstrated in January 2021 study Greater athletic performance estimated from treadmill grade and speed was also an important predictor of better COVID complications.
Blockade of physical activity?
During a pandemic in the United States, researchers point out that education on the benefits of physical activity and advice on maintaining or increasing physical activity are “essentially lacking.”
“The possibility of regular physical activity to reduce the severity of COVID-19’s illness should be promoted by the medical community and public health agencies,” Young said.
“People are even less active now,” said the arena. “The big concern is whether this will be the new norm after we get out of the pandemic,” he and his colleagues said. “Two Pandemic Stories” Earlier this year’s commentary explores the interaction of COVID-19 with global inactivity and sedentary behavioral tendencies.
“The magnitude of the risk of all consequences associated with consistent inactivity exceeds the probability of smoking, and virtually all chronic illnesses studied in this analysis,” the researchers add. This finding may indicate that “physical inactivity can play a decisive role as a risk factor for the consequences of severe COVID-19.”
Whether to challenge or not, risk factors that can still be corrected
“This study found that physical inactivity is one of the strongest risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. Physical inactivity is 3 for COVID-19 patients who are ultimately hospitalized. It was the second highest risk factor. ICU was hospitalized or dying. “..
“Unfortunately, you can’t change the risk factors for old age, but you can increase physical activity and reduce the risk of severe COVID,” added Verdutskogtierrez, a member of the American Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Association. I did. As Director of Engagement Committee and COVID Post-COVID Recovery Clinic at UT Health San Antonio and University Health.
“The next step is to find out if physical inactivity is associated with patients suffering from long COVID,” she said.
Young, Arena, and Verduzco-Gutierrez had no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Partial support for this study was provided by the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefits Fund.
Damian McNamara It is a staff A journalist based in Miami. He covers a wide range of medical specialties, including infectious diseases, gastroenterology, and critical care. Follow Damian on Twitter: @MedReporter..
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