Investigating the Impacts of Smoking and Exercise History on the Recovery Course among Covid-19 Patients

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of exercise and smoking history of the COVID-19 patients on their recovery course and time. Methods: In this respect, as the data source, we observed a total of 310 patients, 176 males 134 females, who tested positive for COVID-19, had no chronic disease, and received inpatient or outpatient treatment. The patients also filled out a personal information form covering their demographic background, including smoking and exercise history. All participants received favipiravir as the standard medication, and their symptoms and the durations of these symptoms were evaluated using the focus group interview method. We analyzed the data on SPSS 17.0 utilizing Independent T-Test, one-way ANOVA, Chi-Square, and Pearson Correlation tests. Results: The results revealed significant differences between former smokers and those who never smoked and quitted smoking by recovery time (p<0.01). There were also significant differences between those doing exercises actively and those who never did or quitted exercise (p<0.01). Again, with regard to recovery time, we found significant differences between groups that quitted exercise in different periods (p<0.05) and between those with different weights (p<0.05). In addition, we reached smoking cessation time and exercise history had positive relationships with recovery time. Conclusion: Considering the results, we concluded that non-smoking and exercise had a positive impact on avoiding adverse effects of the COVID-19 disease. Keywords: Covid-19, exercise, smoking, sports, acute respiratory syndrome