Physical Activity in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension during Pandemic COVID-19 and the Potential Impact of Mental Factors

Maria Wieteska-Miłek, Sebastian Szmit, Michał Florczyk, Anna Witowicz and Marcin Kurzyna
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Maria Wieteska-Miłek: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, European Health Center, Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, 05-400 Otwock, Poland
Sebastian Szmit: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, European Health Center, Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, 05-400 Otwock, Poland
Michał Florczyk: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, European Health Center, Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, 05-400 Otwock, Poland
Anna Witowicz: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, European Health Center, Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, 05-400 Otwock, Poland
Marcin Kurzyna: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, European Health Center, Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, 05-400 Otwock, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-11

Abstract: One of the non-pharmacological recommendations for stable patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is to increase physical activity. The study aimed to analyze the degree of physical activity of PAH patients and check if mental factors may have a potential negative impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty patients with stable PAH were included in the study. Physical activity was assessed by pedometer (Omron HJ-321-E) for four weeks. At baseline, in addition to the 6 min walk test (6MWT) and functional assessment, patients completed the quality-of-life questionnaire SF-36, fear of COVID-19 scale, and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The mean age of the study group was 45.5 years, 80% were women, and 62.5% had idiopathic/heritable PAH. Low physical activity defined as <5000 steps/day had 19 (47.5%), and moderate/high physical activity (≥5000 steps/day) had 21 (52.5%) patients. Patients with low physical activity less frequently worked compared with the moderate–high-activity sub-group, 42% vs. 81%, p = 0.03, and had the shorter distance in 6-6MWT, p = 0.03. There was no significant correlation between steps/day and different mental factors. Almost half of the study group had low activity during the pandemic. Mental factors did not impact physical activity in PAH patients during the pandemic.

Keywords: physical activity; pulmonary arterial hypertension; COVID-19 pandemic; fear of COVID-19; HADS scale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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