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. 2020;24(9):948-950.
doi: 10.1007/s12603-020-1424-2.

Effect of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

M Yamada  1 , Y Kimura, D Ishiyama, Y Otobe, M Suzuki, S Koyama, T Kikuchi, H Kusumi, H Arai
Affiliations

Effect of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

M Yamada et al. J Nutr Health Aging. 2020.

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate changes in physical activity (PA) between January (before the COVID-19 epidemic) and April (during the COVID-19 epidemic) 2020 in community-dwelling older adults in Japan.

Design: Cross-sectional online survey.

Setting and subjects: From April 23 to 27, 2020, an online survey was completed by 1,600 community-dwelling older adults in Japan.

Methods: We assessed the frailty status using the Kihon checklist, and other demographics and asked questions regarding PA at two time points: January and April 2020. We defined the total PA time (minutes) per week based on activity frequency and time.

Results: The study participants' mean age, proportion of women, and prevalence of frailty were 74.0±5.6 years, 50% (n=800), and 24.3% (n=388), respectively. We found a significant decrease in total PA time in April 2020 (median [interquartile range (IQR)], 180 [0 to 420]) when compared to January 2020 (median [IQR], 245 [90 to 480]) (P<0.001). We also performed a subgroup analysis according to the frailty category; total PA time significantly decreased in April 2020 when compared to January 2020 for all frailty categories (P<0.001).

Conclusion: In conclusion, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the total PA time in April 2020 significantly decreased compared to that in January 2020 in older adults. This finding may lead to a higher incidence of disability in the near future in older people.

Keywords: COVID-19; older adults; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall median total PA time in January 2020 and April 2020 (A), robust (B), pre-frail (C), and frail (D) participants. Overall, total PA time significantly decreased from January 2020 to April 2020 (P<0.001) (A). In a subgroup analysis according to the frailty category, total PA time significantly decreased in April 2020 when compared to January 2020 for all frailty categories (P<0.001) (B, C, and D)
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