In a study from Kaiser Permanente, scientists found people who were more physically active prior to being diagnosed with COVID-19 had a lower risk of severe outcomes.
They examined nearly 200,000 adults and showed an association between physical activity and improved COVID-19 outcomes across major demographic groups regardless of whether patients had chronic medical conditions.
Black, Hispanic, and Asian patients had a greater risk of adverse outcomes compared with white patients, in line with prior research.
However, within each racial and ethnic group, more exercise was still associated with less severe COVID-19 outcomes.
This research focused on the association between exercise and COVID-19 outcomes across demographic groups and chronic conditions.
In this study, the team analyzed the electronic health records of 194,191 adult patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 2020 and May 2021, prior to widespread COVID-19 vaccination.
All patients had reported their physical activity levels prior to infection in a routine measure known as the Exercise Vital Sign.
Each patient fell into 1 of 5 categories ranging from always inactive—10 minutes of exercise or less per week, to always active—150 minutes of exercise per week.
The team showed that the more physical activity a patient reported, the lower the risk of hospitalization or death within 90 days of COVID-19 diagnosis. T
his trend was consistent across all activity levels, with always-active patients facing the lowest risk.
More exercise was also linked to lower rates of hospitalization or death for patients with certain underlying chronic conditions—such as hypertension, heart disease, or obesity—that are typically associated with an increased risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes.
These findings drive home the need for physicians to emphasize to their patients that getting vaccinated and being more physically active are two of the most important things you can do to prevent severe outcomes of COVID-19.
The team says this is a powerful opportunity to develop stronger policies supporting physical activity as a pandemic-mitigation strategy.
This study provides new evidence to inform appropriate interventions across demographic groups.
If you care about COVID, please read studies that zinc could help reduce COVID-19 infection risk, and a new antiviral drug may block COVID-19 transmission.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and results showing how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer.
The study was conducted by Deborah Rohm Young et al and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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