Physical Activity and Mental Health Declined during the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Literature Review

Christina Amo (), Najla Almansour and Idethia S. Harvey
Additional contact information
Christina Amo: Department of Education, Health, & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Najla Almansour: Department of Education, Health, & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Idethia S. Harvey: Department of Health Sciences, School of Health Professions, University of Missouri, 313 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: (1) Introduction: Mental health (MH) and physical activity (PA) share a bi-directional relationship, but most studies report MH as the outcome. With diminishing pandemic-related MH, this review examines the impact of diminished MH on PA. (2) Methods: This narrative literature review included 19 empirical studies published since the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronic databases such as MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched for English language articles in peer-reviewed journals using equivalent index terms: “anxiety”, “depression”, “stress”, “mental health”, “exercise”, “activity”, “COVID-19”, “coronavirus”, and “2019 pandemic”. The search reviewed 187 articles with double-rater reliability using Covidence. A total of 19 articles met the inclusion criteria. (3) Results: MH themes that impacted PA were depression and/or anxiety ( n = 17), one of which identified inadequate coping and excessive pandemic stress ( n = 2). In addition, women are more likely to suffer diminished MH and reduced PA throughout the pandemic. (4) Conclusion: Current research suggests that individuals with pre-pandemic MH episodes are correlated with more effective coping skills and fewer adverse effects from COVID-19 than expected. As we emerge from this pandemic, equipping all individuals, especially women, with positive coping strategies may accelerate a seamless return to PA.

Keywords: exercise; mental health; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11230/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11230/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:18:p:11230-:d:908785

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().