The Effects of Physical Inactivity and Exercise at Home in Young Patients with Congenital Heart Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Federica Gentili, Giulia Cafiero, Marco Alfonso Perrone, Massimiliano Bianco, Annamaria Salvati, Ugo Giordano, Stefani Silva Kikina, Paolo Guccione, Andrea De Zorzi, Lorenzo Galletti, Fabrizio Drago, Benedetta Leonardi and Attilio Turchetta
Additional contact information
Federica Gentili: Division of Sports Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Giulia Cafiero: Division of Sports Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Marco Alfonso Perrone: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Massimiliano Bianco: Unità Operativa Complessa di Medicina dello Sport e Rieducazione Funzionale, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
Annamaria Salvati: Division of Sports Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Ugo Giordano: Division of Sports Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Stefani Silva Kikina: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Paolo Guccione: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Andrea De Zorzi: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Lorenzo Galletti: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Fabrizio Drago: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Benedetta Leonardi: Department of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Attilio Turchetta: Division of Sports Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the population’s ability to be physically active. Purpose: Evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 mitigation measures on exercise tolerance in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Materials and methods: All subjects (880, 6–18 years old) who performed a stress test at our hospital from October 2020 to February 2021 and had a similar test one year earlier were enrolled. A questionnaire on the degree of physical activity carried out in 2020 concerning the period prior to the pandemic was compiled. Exercise tolerance and the main anthropometric parameters between the first and second tests were compared. Results: 110 subjects (11.9 ± 4.1 years) were included in the study. The percentage of patients engaged in regular physical activity (RPA) decreased significantly during the pandemic ( p < 0.001), and BMI increased significantly ( p < 0.001), except among the subjects who began RPA during the lockdown, whereas test duration did not decrease significantly overall but increased in this last subgroup ( p < 0.05) Conclusions: The COVID-19 lockdown led to a less active lifestyle with a significant increase in BMI in our group of CHD. These data could have negative effects on the risk profile of this population. RPA practiced at home seems to be effective in counteracting such effects.

Keywords: congenital heart disease; COVID-19; exercise training; physical activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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