scholarly journals Physical activity can change the physiological and psychological circumstances during COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 001-007
Author(s):  
Maroufi Khashayar

Background: With the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many studies’ attention to this world’s complexity increased dramatically. Different views on sports and physical activities have been presented, which have addressed the advantages and disadvantages of sports activities in this period differently. The purpose of this review was to investigate the physiological and psychological effects of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using PubMed, Science Direct, Medline, and Web of Science electronic databases, this review summarizes the current knowledge of direct and indirect effects of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating the advantages and drawbacks of specific exercise physiology conditions. All types of studies were assessed, including systematic reviews, case-studies, and clinical guidelines. The literature search identified 40 articles that discussed COVID-19, immune system, the relation between immune system and exercise or diet, and psychological impacts of physical activity. Results: Forty articles review showed that the immune system depends on the type, frequency, intensity, and duration of the exercise. Intense or prolonged exercise with short recovery periods can progressively weaken the immune system and increase the risk of COVID-19. One of the acute responses after moderate-intensity training is improved immune function and a decrease in inflammatory cytokines. Paying attention to dietary intakes of micro-and macronutrients in conjunction with exercise can strengthen the condition to fight against coronavirus. Exercise can also affect the psychological dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic, including depression, anxiety, and stress, which improve community mental health during the quarantine. Conclusion: Setting appropriate physical activity based on individuals’ properties and proper diet plan may enhance the physiological and psychological body’s condition to fight against coronavirus.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-122
Author(s):  
Nadhir Hammami ◽  
Hela Jdidi ◽  
Bechir Frih

Background: The consequences of the new pandemic caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have ruined the whole world. To date, more than 180 countries have been affected with more than 13 million people afflicted of all categories (young people, the elderly, athletes, and children) and more than 500,000 deaths around the globe. Moderate-intensity physical activity should be recommended as a non-pharmacological, low-cost, and feasible mean to cope with the COVID-19 virus Objective: The first objective is to provide an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic along with the evolution of this disease, the modes of inter-persons transmission, and the symptoms. The second objective is to suggest means of prevention for people, including the practice of regular physical activity. Conclusion: No drugs or treatments exist until today. The solution remains confinement in order to minimize contact between people (social distancing) and the strengthening of the immune system through a healthy lifestyle (healthy food and regular physical and sports practice) in addition to the recommended preventive measures.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1271-1279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia E. Longmuir ◽  
Rachel C. Colley ◽  
Valerie A. Wherley ◽  
Mark S. Tremblay

Current guidelines recommend children accumulate 60 min of daily physical activity; however, highly publicized sudden-death events among young athletes raise questions regarding activity safety. An expert group convened (June 2012) to consider the safety of promoting increased physical activity for children, and recommended the publication of an evidence-based statement of current knowledge regarding the benefits and risks of physical activity for children. Recommendations for encouraging physical activity while maximizing the opportunity to identify children who have been prescribed a physical activity restriction include (1) professionals and (or) researchers that encourage children to change the type of physical activity or to increase the frequency, intensity, or duration of their activity should inquire whether a child has primary healthcare provider-prescribed activity limitations before the child’s activity participation changes; (2) physical activity researchers should prioritize the development of evidence regarding the benefits and risks of childhood physical activity and inactivity, particularly data on the risks of sedentary lifestyles and physical activity-associated injury risks that accounts for the amount of activity performed, and the effectiveness of current risk-management strategies and screening approaches; (3) professionals and researchers should prioritize the dissemination of information regarding the benefits of physical activity and the risks of sedentary behaviour in children; and (4) parents and professionals should encourage all children to accumulate at least 60 min of physical activity daily. The recommendations are established as a minimum acceptable standard that is applicable to all physical activity opportunities organized for children, whether those opportunities occur in a community, school, or research setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-297
Author(s):  
Diako Heidari ◽  
Aref Mehdipour

The aim of this study was to understand the role of sport on covid-19 through reviewing the published literature. This was a narrative review that used valid keywords for searching the related scholarly articles. The search for the related keywords on Pubmed, Scopus, Science Direct library and Google Scholar lead to 1158 articles in 2020. After screening 28 article found eligibility to be inclouded in the review. The result indicated that physical activity and exercise play a role in preventing novel coronavirous infection and strengthening the immune system againt the covid-19. Extended Abstract Background and Objectives Since COVID-19 virus is an unknown virus which has caused alarming death toll over the past year, researchers felt implelled to take measures through doing extensive research studies in a variety of related fields to control the virus. On the other hand, exercise is known as a useful non-pharmacological method to improve the function of the immune system, so researchers in the field of sports science have done valuable research studies in this research domain, albeit limited, which can provide us with valuable information in this regard. Hence, there is a pressing need to collect and categorize these latest findings. Therefore, the very aim of this study was to review literature on the role of exercise and physical activity against the COVID-19. Material and Methods This was a narrative review, the data was collected through searching and reteriving available articles published in information resources like Medline (PubMed), Scopus , Science Direct collection, and also Google Scholar. The keywords employed for search strategy building included: "Exercise Training", "Physical Activity", "Aerobic Exercise", "Interval Training", "Resistance Training", "Endurance Training", "COVID-19", "novel Coronavirus" and "Immune System". Based on the results of our searches conducted in databases, initially 1185 articles were selected. After screening the titles and abstracts of the retrieved articles and removal of the duplicate and irrelevant ones, 59 articles were included in the reveiew stage. Then, full text of eligible articles were put underclose scrutiny which led to the final selection of only 28 articles to be studied. Results According to our review, exercise can play a role in different ways against COVID-19 diseases and novel coronavirous, which is now recognized as a global problem. These roles include preventing some underlying diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease and diabetes and improving immunity. Exercise lowers cortisol levels in long term, which reduces the stress induced by COVID-19, which in turn strengthens the immune system. On the other hand, doing moderate- intensity exercise can strengthen the immune system in the long run, while low-intensity or high-intensity exercise types do not bring about similar degree of adaption. Conclusion It is necessary to pay special attention to exercise training in Covid-19 pandemic period. However, it should be noted that due to the novelty of this phenomenon, limited research has been done in this area to date and more research studies are required to be done in this regard. Practical implications of research It is best for people to stay home during Covid-19 pandemic period and to have 150 minutes of moderate-intensity regular exercise during the week to boost their immune system. Ethical considerations In this review research, the ethical issues of research and fiduciary have been observed. Conflict of interest We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Acknowledgment No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this article.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jelena Ristic ◽  
Marko Folic ◽  
Katarina Radonjic ◽  
Milenko I. Rosic ◽  
Sergey Bolevich ◽  
...  

Taken into consideration that oxidative stress response after preconditioning with phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEIs) and moderate physical activity has still not been clarified, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of PDEIs alone or in combination with physical activity, on systemic redox status. The study was carried out on 96 male Wistar albino rats classified into two groups. The first group included animals exposed only to pharmacological preconditioning (PreC) maneuver (sedentary control (CTRL, 1 ml/day saline, n=12), nicardipine (6 mg/kg/day of NIC, n=12), vinpocetine (10 mg/kg/day of VIN, n=12), and nimodipine (NIM 10 mg/kg/day of, n=12). The second included animals exposed to preconditioning with moderate-intensity training (MIT) on treadmill for 8 weeks. After 5 weeks from the start of training, the animals were divided into four subgroups depending on the medication to be used for pharmacological PreC: moderate-intensity training (MIT+ 1 ml/day saline, n=12), nicardipine (MIT+ 6 mg/kg/day of NIC, n=12), vinpocetine (MIT+ 10 mg/kg/day of VIN, n=12), and nimodipine (MIT+ 10 mg/kg/day of NIM, n=12). After three weeks of pharmacological preconditioning, the animals were sacrificed. The following oxidative stress parameters were measured spectrophotometrically: nitrites (NO2−), superoxide anion radical (O2−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), index of lipid peroxidation (TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and reduced glutathione (GSH). Our results showed that PDE1 and MIT preconditioning decreased the release of prooxidants and improved the activity of antioxidant enzymes thus preventing systemic oxidative stress.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 799-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Qiu ◽  
Guo-wei Tu ◽  
Min-jie Ju ◽  
Cheng Yang ◽  
Zhe Luo

Sepsis, which is a highly heterogeneous syndrome, can result in death as a consequence of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The activation and regulation of the immune system play a key role in the initiation, development and prognosis of sepsis. Due to the different periods of sepsis when the objects investigated were incorporated, clinical trials often exhibit negative or even contrary results. Thus, in this review we aim to sort out the current knowledge in how immune cells play a role during sepsis.


Author(s):  
Chia-Hsun Chang ◽  
Ching-Pyng Kuo ◽  
Chien-Ning Huang ◽  
Shiow-Li Hwang ◽  
Wen-Chun Liao ◽  
...  

This study aimed to determine whether daily physical activity in young and older adults with T2DM is associated with diabetes control. A prospective correlational study involving 206 young (≤65 years) and older (>65 years) adults was conducted. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess their daily physical activity levels. Patients’ mean HbA1c level was 7.8% (±1.4), and 95.9% of patients had unsatisfactory diabetes control. Performing more minutes per week of moderate-intensity daily physical activity was associated with a lower risk of glycemia in both young and older adults. Furthermore, moderate daily physical activity significantly lowered the risk of glycemia. Health personnel must encourage patients to engage in moderate daily physical activities to improve diabetes control.


Biologics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-110
Author(s):  
Neslihan Yeşilyurt ◽  
Birsen Yılmaz ◽  
Duygu Ağagündüz ◽  
Raffaele Capasso

Intestinal microbiota interacts with other systems, especially the immune system, which is responsible for protecting the body by recognizing “stranger” (pathogen associated molecular patterns-PAMPs) and “danger” (damage-associated molecular patterns-DAMPs) molecular motifs. In this manner, it plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various diseases and health. Despite the use of probiotics that modulate the intestinal microbiota in providing health benefits and in the treatment of diseases, there are some possible concerns about the possibility of developing adverse effects, especially in people with suppressed immune systems. Since probiotics provide health benefits with bioactive compounds, studies are carried out on the use of products containing non-living probiotic microorganisms (paraprobiotics) and/or their metabolites (postbiotics) instead of probiotic products. It is even reported that these microbial compounds have more immunomodulatory activities than living microorganisms via some possible mechanism and eliminates some disadvantages of probiotics. Considering the increasing use of functional foods in health and disease, further studies are needed with respect to the benefits and advantages of parabiotic and/or postbiotic use in the food and pharmaceutical industry as well as immune system modulation. Although probiotics have been extensive studied for a long time, it seems that postbiotics are promising tools for future research and applications according to the recent literature. This review aimed to evaluate the interaction of probiotics and postbiotics with the immune systems and also their advantages and disadvantages in the area of food-pharmaceutical industry and immune system modulation.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e043963
Author(s):  
Jorge López Fernández ◽  
Alejandro López-Valenciano ◽  
Xián Mayo ◽  
Elizabeth Horton ◽  
Ivan Clavel ◽  
...  

Objectives(1) To describe the physical activity (PA) levels of the members of a Spanish leisure centre operator according to age and gender; (2) to describe the differences in the three PA levels between the members of a Spanish leisure centre operator and the general Spanish population considering the PA Eurobarometer data according to their gender and age and (3) to explore the intensity origin of the PA either in Spanish members of leisure centres or the Spanish population considering their gender.DesignDescriptive epidemiology study.ParticipantsData from 16 Spanish leisure centres (n=3627) and from the 2017 Eurobarometer 472 for Spain (n=1002) were used for this research.Primary and secondary outcomes measuresThe PA levels were analysed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short version, and respondents were grouped into physical inactivity (PIA), moderate-PA and high-PA. Moreover, gender (men or women) and age (18–29 years; 30–44 years; 45–59 years; 60–69 years; ≥70 years) were considered. Total metabolic equivalent (MET)-min/week, as well as total MET-min/week for walking intensity, moderate intensity and vigorous intensity were recorded.ResultsLeisure centres showed a lower prevalence of PIA and a higher prevalence of high-PA than the general population (p<0.05). Women displayed a higher prevalence of PIA and lower prevalence of high-PA than men (p<0.05). The prevalence of PIA increases with age while the prevalence of high-PA decreases.ConclusionLeisure centres engage most of their members in regular PA, including women and older adults, and these members also perform a higher number of MET in vigorous PA, than the general population.


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