A higher frequency of physical activity is associated with reduced rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection
| Title: | A higher frequency of physical activity is associated with reduced rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection |
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| Authors: | Ilan Green, Eugene Merzon, Shlomo Vinker, Avivit Golan-Cohen, Ariel Israel, Mickey Scheinowitz, Reuven Ishai, Shai Ashkenazi, Eli Magen |
| Source: | European Journal of General Practice, Vol 29, Iss 2 (2023) |
| Publisher Information: | Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. |
| Publication Year: | 2023 |
| Collection: | LCC:Medicine (General) |
| Subject Terms: | Physical activity, SARS-CoV-2, prevention, health benefits, corona, Medicine (General), R5-920 |
| More Details: | AbstractBackground Physical activity (PA) is associated with health benefits. Previous studies have shown that regular PA decreases the incidence of viral respiratory tract infections, but data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are unavailable.Objectives The objective of this study is to examine the association between PA frequency and SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on data from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020, using the registry of Leumit Health Services (LHS), a national health maintenance organisation in Israel. All LHS patients aged 18 to 80 years who underwent at least one RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period were included. We examined the association between PA frequency (hours per week) and being tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.Results Of 113,075 subjects tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR (mean age 41.6 years, 54.4% female), 17,465 (15%) were positive. In the SARS-CoV-2-negative group, significantly more subjects were engaged with PA than in the SARS-CoV-2-positive group [crude odds ratio (OR) for any PA 0.75 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72–0.77)]. After adjusting for possible confounders, PA frequency had a significant negative association with the likelihood of being SARS-CoV-2 positive (adjusted OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.64–0.68). Moreover, as the frequency of PA increased, the ORs of being SARS-CoV-2-positive decreased (occasional PA: OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.67–0.74; PA 1–3 times/week: OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.58–0.65 and PA > 3 times/week: OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.49 − 0.59).Conclusion Our large population-based study in patients undergoing SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing showed that a higher frequency of PA is associated with a lower rate of positive test results |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 13814788 1751-1402 1381-4788 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/1381-4788; https://doaj.org/toc/1751-1402 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/13814788.2022.2138855 |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/f5814f6401534754805a1f81d3aac0d1 |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.f5814f6401534754805a1f81d3aac0d1 |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| ISSN: | 13814788 17511402 |
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| DOI: | 10.1080/13814788.2022.2138855 |
| Published in: | European Journal of General Practice |
| Language: | English |