Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Nutrition Exercise and Health Sciences
Publication Date
1-27-2023
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has detrimental multi-system consequences. Symptoms may appear during the acute phase of infection, but the literature on long-term recovery of young adults after mild to moderate infection is lacking. Heart rate variability (HRV) allows for the observation of autonomic nervous system (ANS) modulation post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. Since physical activity (PA) can help improve ANS modulation, investigating factors that can influence HRV outcomes after COVID-19 is essential to advancements in care and intervention strategies. Clinicians may use this research to aid in the development of non-medication interventions. At baseline, 18 control (CT) and 20 post-COVID-19 (PCOV) participants were observed where general anamnesis was performed, followed by HRV and PA assessment. Thus, 10 CT and 7 PCOV subjects returned for follow-up (FU) evaluation 6 weeks after complete immunization (two doses) and assessments were repeated. Over the follow-up period, a decrease in sympathetic (SNS) activity (mean heart rate: p = 0.0024, CI = −24.67–−3.26; SNS index: p = 0.0068, CI = −2.50–−0.32) and increase in parasympathetic (PNS) activity (mean RR: p = 0.0097, CI = 33.72–225.51; PNS index: p = 0.0091, CI = −0.20–1.47) were observed. At follow-up, HRV was not different between groups (p > 0.05). Additionally, no differences were observed in PA between moments and groups. This study provides evidence of ANS recovery after SARS-CoV-2 insult in young adults over a follow-up period, independent of changes in PA.
Recommended Citation
Freire, A. P. C. F., Amin, S., Lira, F. S., Morano, A. E. von A., Pereira, T., Coelho-E-Silva, M.-J., Caseiro, A., Christofaro, D. G. D., Dos Santos, V. R., Júnior, O. M., Pinho, R. A., & Silva, B. S. de A. (2023). Autonomic function recovery and physical activity levels in post-covid-19 young adults after immunization: An observational follow-up case-control study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2251. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032251
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights
© 2023 by the authors.
Included in
Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Public Health Commons, Virus Diseases Commons
Comments
This article was originally published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.