The impact of COVID-19 infection on the quality of life among exercisers and non-exercisers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v81.118471Keywords:
exercise behavior, quality of life , COVID-19 , exercisers , non-exercisersAbstract
Introduction: The individuals’ quality of life, especially the physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment domains, may have been influenced by their exercise behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objective: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 infection (COVID) on individuals’ quality of life, comparing exercisers and non-exercisers.
Methodology: In total, 328 participants aged 18 to 25 years old participated in the study. Participants were categorised into four distinct groups: COVID exercisers, COVID non-exercisers, non-COVID exercisers, and non-COVID non-exercisers. Participants were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires assessing their general demographics, exercise behaviour, and quality of life across the four aforementioned domains, and their general health, and overall quality of life. Differences between the groups were analysed using two-way ANOVA and sample pair t-tests, and the relationships among variables were examined using Pearson’s product-moment correlation.
Results: Participants in the non-COVID exerciser group reported significantly higher scores in terms of their general health, and in the physical health, psychological health, social relationship, and environmental quality of life domains compared to the other three groups. Among the COVID‑exercisers, general health was significantly associated with the number of vaccine doses they had received. Among the COVID non-exercisers, the physical health domain was found to be associated with the number of COVID-19 infections they had experienced.
Conclusion: Participants in the non-COVID exerciser group demonstrated significantly better quality of life scores across all the measured domains. This finding emphasises the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle to support a better quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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