The Association Between Physical Activity Level of CVD Patients and Rate of Covid-19 Incidence

Abstract

Background: Decreased physical activity level (PAL) and consequent lifestyle alterations might induce cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Like many other chronic diseases, CVD attenuates the immune system, which in turn can affect the rate of COVID-19 infection and its severity. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the association between PAL and the rate of COVID-19 incidence in CVD patients. Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive cross-sectional study included all CVD patients in Kermanshah, among which 727 individuals (371 men and 356 women) were randomly selected as the statistical sample. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) was used to assess the PAL. The independent t-test was used to compare men and women. Also, the association between variables was evaluated by the Pearson correlation coefficient test (using SPSS 24 at the significance level of P < 0.05). Results: No significant differences were observed in the PAL and the incidence of COVID-19 between men and women. There is also a significant positive association between low and severe PAL and the incidence of COVID-19 in men and women suffering from CVD. However, there was a significant inverse association between moderate PAL and the incidence of COVID-19. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that moderate PAL might prevent or reduce the severity of COVID-19 in CVD patients by strengthening the immune system.