tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Med Internet Res
. 2020 Oct 2.
doi: 10.2196/21632. Online ahead of print.
Physical Distancing Measures and Walking Activity in Middle-aged and Older Residents in Changsha, China During the COVID-19 Epidemic Period: Longitudinal Observational Study
Yilun Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yuqing Zhang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Kim Bennell[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Daniel Kenta White[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jie Wei[SUP] 2 3 6 [/SUP], Ziying Wu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hongyi He[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shaohui Liu[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Xianghang Luo[SUP] 7 8 [/SUP], Shuo Hu[SUP] 8 9 [/SUP], Chao Zeng[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Guanghua Lei[SUP] 1 8 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Physical distancing measures taken to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission may substantially reduce physical activity levels and cause individuals to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle.
Objective: To describe change in daily steps, an important component of daily physical activity, and examine risk factors for frequent low daily steps around the COVID-19 epidemic.
Methods: We used data collected from the Step Study, a population-based longitudinal study of walking activity among residents aged ≥40 years in Changsha, China. Daily steps were collected via smartphone linked to WeChat, a social-network platform. We plotted mean daily steps and the prevalence of low daily steps (≤1,500 steps/day) 30 days before (reference period) and 30 days after (epidemic period) January 21, 2020 (date of the first COVID-19 case diagnosed in Changsha), and compared it with the same corresponding period from 2019. We examined the relation of risk factors for the prevalence of frequent low daily steps (≤1,500 steps/day for ≥14 days) using logistic regression.
Results: Among 3,544 participants (mean age: 51.6 years; females: 34.6% [1,226/3,544]), mean daily steps dropped from 8,097 to 5,440 and the prevalence of low daily steps increased from 3% (2,287/76,136 person-day) to 18.5% (12,951/70,183 person-day), during reference and epidemic periods, respectively. No such phenomenon was observed during the corresponding period in 2019. Older age (P for interaction=.001) and female sex (P for interaction<.001) were both associated with higher prevalence of frequent low daily steps and were more pronounced during the epidemic period. More education was associated with a lower prevalence of frequent low daily steps during the reference period but not the epidemic period (P for interaction=.34). Body mass index or comorbidity was not associated with frequent low daily steps during either period.
Conclusions: Daily steps of residents aged ≥40 years during the COVID-19 period in Changsha dropped significantly, especially among the old adults and females. While successful physical distancing, measured by the rapid downward trend in daily step counts of residents, played a critical role in the containment of COVID-19 epidemic, our findings of an increase in prevalence of frequent low daily steps raise concerns about unintended effects on physical activity.
. 2020 Oct 2.
doi: 10.2196/21632. Online ahead of print.
Physical Distancing Measures and Walking Activity in Middle-aged and Older Residents in Changsha, China During the COVID-19 Epidemic Period: Longitudinal Observational Study
Yilun Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yuqing Zhang[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Kim Bennell[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Daniel Kenta White[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jie Wei[SUP] 2 3 6 [/SUP], Ziying Wu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hongyi He[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shaohui Liu[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Xianghang Luo[SUP] 7 8 [/SUP], Shuo Hu[SUP] 8 9 [/SUP], Chao Zeng[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Guanghua Lei[SUP] 1 8 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33027035
- DOI: 10.2196/21632
Abstract
Background: Physical distancing measures taken to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission may substantially reduce physical activity levels and cause individuals to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle.
Objective: To describe change in daily steps, an important component of daily physical activity, and examine risk factors for frequent low daily steps around the COVID-19 epidemic.
Methods: We used data collected from the Step Study, a population-based longitudinal study of walking activity among residents aged ≥40 years in Changsha, China. Daily steps were collected via smartphone linked to WeChat, a social-network platform. We plotted mean daily steps and the prevalence of low daily steps (≤1,500 steps/day) 30 days before (reference period) and 30 days after (epidemic period) January 21, 2020 (date of the first COVID-19 case diagnosed in Changsha), and compared it with the same corresponding period from 2019. We examined the relation of risk factors for the prevalence of frequent low daily steps (≤1,500 steps/day for ≥14 days) using logistic regression.
Results: Among 3,544 participants (mean age: 51.6 years; females: 34.6% [1,226/3,544]), mean daily steps dropped from 8,097 to 5,440 and the prevalence of low daily steps increased from 3% (2,287/76,136 person-day) to 18.5% (12,951/70,183 person-day), during reference and epidemic periods, respectively. No such phenomenon was observed during the corresponding period in 2019. Older age (P for interaction=.001) and female sex (P for interaction<.001) were both associated with higher prevalence of frequent low daily steps and were more pronounced during the epidemic period. More education was associated with a lower prevalence of frequent low daily steps during the reference period but not the epidemic period (P for interaction=.34). Body mass index or comorbidity was not associated with frequent low daily steps during either period.
Conclusions: Daily steps of residents aged ≥40 years during the COVID-19 period in Changsha dropped significantly, especially among the old adults and females. While successful physical distancing, measured by the rapid downward trend in daily step counts of residents, played a critical role in the containment of COVID-19 epidemic, our findings of an increase in prevalence of frequent low daily steps raise concerns about unintended effects on physical activity.