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  • Impact of physical activity on COVID-19-related symptoms and perception of physical performance, fatigue and exhaustion during stay-at-home orders

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Original research
Impact of physical activity on COVID-19-related symptoms and perception of physical performance, fatigue and exhaustion during stay-at-home orders
  1. Andreas Gehlhar1,2,
  2. Nikola Schmidt3,
  3. Nina Eisenburger3,
  4. Sven Feddern2,
  5. Annelene Kossow2,4,
  6. Johannes Nießen2,
  7. Stefanie Wessely3,
  8. Gerhard A Wiesmüller1,2,
  9. Barbara Grüne2,
  10. Christine Joisten2,3
  11. On behalf of the CoCo-Fakt Group
    1. 1Institute for Occupational Medicine and Social Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
    2. 2Infektions- und Umwelthygiene, Cologne Health Department, Cologne, Germany
    3. 3Department for Physical Activity in Public Health, German Sport University Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, Cologne, Germany
    4. 4Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
    1. Correspondence to Andreas Gehlhar; a.gehlhar{at}gmx.de

    Abstract

    Objectives The measures used to contain the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant reduction in physical activity. Due to the health benefits of exercise, recommendations were made for lockdown restrictions. Within the CoCo-Fakt study (Cologne-Corona counselling and support for index and contacts during the quarantine period), we aimed to determine how these recommendations were implemented, especially by individuals who were officially quarantined due to an infected persons (IPs) or as close contacts (CPs), and how this affected their physical and psychological condition.

    Methods From 12 December 2020 to 6 January 2021, all IPs and CPs registered by Cologne’s public health department up to the survey period were surveyed online. Of 10 547 people in the CoCo-Fakt sample, 8102 were integrated into the current analysis. In addition to demographic data, information regarding COVID-19-specific and persistent symptoms or conditions and their association with the amount and type of exercise and screen time before and during the quarantine were collected.

    Results Before quarantine, 66.9% of IPs and 69% of CPs were physically active; during quarantine, this decreased by 49.4% in IPs depending on the course of the disease and by 30.6% in CPs. Physically active IPs and CPs felt less exhausted and more fit during their quarantine periods than those who were inactive, with active IPs significantly less likely to report prolonged physical and psychological symptoms than their more sedentary counterparts.

    Conclusion Given the acute and long-term positive effects of exercise on quarantined individuals, corresponding recommendations should be communicated to those affected, especially CPs. Recommendations for IPs depend on their health status.

    • COVID-19
    • Exercise
    • Infection

    Data availability statement

    Data are available on reasonable request.

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

    This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

    https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001319

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      Data availability statement

      Data are available on reasonable request.

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      Footnotes

      • Collaborators We would like to thank Julian Book, Lukas Broichhaus, Monika Daum, Alisa Fabrice, Anna Carlotta Graf, Wanja Nöthig, Markus Lorbacher and Marc Tappiser who contributed to the design of the CoCo-Fakt questionnaire.

      • Contributors CJ, BG, SF, AK, JN and GAW conducted the study. Data collection was done by AG, SW, NE and NS. AG and CJ analysed the data. AG wrote the manuscript. AG is the guarantor of this work. All authors critically revised the final version of the manuscript.

      • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

      • Competing interests None declared.

      • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research. Refer to the Methods section for further details.

      • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

      • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.