Relationship of Physical Activity Level with Quality of Life and General Health Among COVID-19 Recovered Individuals

 New coronavirus (COVID-19) has a major impact on the individual's physical activity level (PAL). The COVID-19 outbreak caused a decrease in the PAL, which might also affect the general health and quality of life (QoL).

 This study aimed to evaluate the relationship of PAL with QoL and general health (GH) among COVID-19 recovered individuals (CRI).

 This is a descriptive-analytical study in which 890 CRI (men [n = 438] and women [n = 452]) were recruited from volunteers of different COVID-19 testing centers in Kermanshah Province. The participants were chosen by the multi-stage (Cluster) sampling techniques. The consent form and questionnaires (PAL, GH, and QoL) were filled out, and demographic information was evaluated. The short form of international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), GHQ, and the short-form-SF-12 QoL questionnaires were used to appraise the PAL, GH, and QoL. Data were analyzed by independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS version 24.0 at a significance level of P < 0.05.

 The findings of the present study showed that men and women with COVID-19 had inadequate PAL (876.11 ± 40.23 and 739.08 ± 27.02, respectively), insufficient GH (50.13 ± 3.11 and 54.15 ± 4.28, respectively), and poor QoL (22.02 ± 2.28 and 19.23 ± 1.87, respectively). The results also showed that men had significantly higher PAL (P = 0.035), GH (P = 0.047), and QoL (P = 0.023) compared to women. Also, the results showed a significant inverse relationship between PAL and GH (men: r = -0.589, P = 0.038 and women: r = -0.685, P = 0.029) and a significant positive relationship between PAL and QoL (men: r = 0.792, P = 0.018 and women: r = 0.824, P = 0.001) in COVID-19 recovered individuals.

 Considering the prevalence of COVID-19 and its negative impact on GH and QoL, maintaining adequate PAL can be considered as one of the effective strategies for improving QoL and GH.