Does pre-existent physical inactivity have a role in the severity of COVID-19?

Yuan, Qilin; Huang, Hua-yao; Chen, Xiao-ling; Chen, Rong-hua; Zhang, Yixian; Pan, Xiao-bin; Chen, Jun-nian; Liu, Nan; Du, Houwei

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Physical inactivity is considered an important lifestyle factor for overweight and cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the association between pre-existent physical inactivity and the risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: We included 164 (61.8 ± 13.6 years) patients with COVID-19 who were admitted between 15 February and 14 March 2020 in this retrospective study. We evaluated the association between pre-existent physical inactivity and severe COVID-19 using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Of 164 eligible patients with COVID-19, 103 (62.8%) were reported to be physically inactive. Univariable logistic regression analysis showed that physical inactivity was associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 [unadjusted odds ratio (OR) 6.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.88–22.62]. In the multivariable regression analysis, physical inactivity remained significantly associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 (adjusted OR 4.12, 95% CI 1.12–15.14) after adjustment for age, sex, stroke, and overweight. CONCLUSION: Our data showed that pre-existent physical inactivity was associated with an increased risk of experiencing severe COVID-19. Our findings indicate that people should be encouraged to keep physically active to be at a lower risk of experiencing a severe illness when COVID-19 infection seems unpredicted. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.