Different studies sought to investigate whether these changes in PA were associated with mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic and a previous systematic review synthetised that PA is an effective strategy to face the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have demonstrated that PA declined and sedentary behaviour increased during the COVID-19 pandemic stay at home order in many countries, regardless of the subpopulation. This situation even worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, globally, approximately 23% of adults and 81% of adolescents do not meet the WHO recommendations regarding PA for maintaining health. Physical activity (PA) is well recognised as a key factor for the prevention and management of mental illness, including mental disorders such as depression and anxiety as well as the promotion of mental health such as well-being. Considering the need for social distancing measures, the investigation of possible factors that can mitigate the negative effects of social distancing on mental health should help the promotion of intervention strategies. A wide range of psychological outcomes has been observed during the virus outbreak, including a reduction in well-being as well as increases in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Some common impacts include disturbed eating behaviours, changes in alcohol consumption, and substance use. Īs a consequence of the stay-at-home strategies, mainly during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies had reported multiple behaviour changes. From the beginning of the pandemic, as a community mitigation strategy used to reduce the spread of COVID-19, most countries adopted the stay-at-home order as well as the stimulation of facemask wearing and hygiene habits. The World Health Organization (WHO) published a weekly report and on 16th of November 2021 it was observed a increasing trend in new global weekly cases. However, the number of infected people and deaths continues to grow. Until November 2021, 53.3% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Fortunately, in December 2020 the vaccination started in the United Kingdom and is currently pursued in different countries. To bring this pandemic to an end, a large share of the world needs to be immune to the virus, and the safest way to achieve this is with a vaccine. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious virus that infects humans and causes coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), which is currently having a damaging impact on almost all countries worldwide. Public health policies should alert for possibilities to increase physical activity during the stay-at-home order in many countries worldwide.
Physical activity has been a good and effective choice to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women were more vulnerable to mental health changes and men were more susceptive to physical activity changes. There was no consensus for the optimal physical activity level for mitigating negative mental symptoms, neither for the frequency nor for the type of physical activity. Overall, the studies suggested that higher physical activity is associated with higher well-being, quality of life as well as lower depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress, independently of age. Thirty-one studies were included in this review.
Eligibility criteria included cross-sectional, prospective, and longitudinal study designs and studies published in English outcomes included physical activity and mental health (e.g., depressive symptoms, anxiety, positive and negative effects, well-being). In July 2021, a search was applied to PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Thus, this systematic review aims to examine the association between physical activity and mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A reduction in physical activity and increased mental health problems were observed, mainly in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic affected countries worldwide and has changed peoples’ lives.
0 kommentar(er)
