Affiliation:
1. Section of Sport Medicine & Biology of Exercise, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 41 Ethnikis Antistasis, 17237 Daphne, Greece
2. School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
3. Department of Sports Organization and Management, Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life Sciences, University of Peloponnese, Efstathiou and Stamatikis Valioti & Plataion Avenue, 23100 Sparta, Greece
Abstract
This study investigated changes in physical activity (PA) after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection while considering age, PA level, underlying medical conditions (UMCs), vaccination profiles/types, re-infections, disease severity, and treatment. Data were collected from 5829 respondents by using a validated web-based questionnaire. The findings showed that there was a significant overall decrease in PA (−16.2%), including in daily occupation (−11.9%), transportation (−13.5%), leisure-time (−16.4%), and sporting (−27.6%) activities. Age, PA level, UMCs, vaccination profiles/types, disease severity, and treatment played a role in determining PA in individuals’ post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infections. Re-infections did not impact the decline in PA. Unvaccinated individuals experienced a significant decline in PA (−13.7%). Younger (−22.4%) and older adults (−22.5%), those with higher PA levels (−20.6%), those with 2–5 UMCs (−23.1%), those who were vaccinated (−16.9%) or partially vaccinated (−19.1%), those with mRNA-type vaccines only (−17.1%), those with recurrent (−19.4%)-to-persistent (−54.2%) symptoms, and those that required hospital (−51.8%) or intensive care unit (−67.0%) admission during their infections had more pronounced declines in PA. These findings emphasize the complex relationship between post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and PA and highlight the need for targeted interventions, further research, and multidisciplinary care to promote PA resumption and mitigate long-term effects on global public health.
Subject
Pharmacology (medical),Infectious Diseases,Drug Discovery,Pharmacology,Immunology
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