Regular physical activity (PA) is known to reduce the risk of serious community-acquired infections We examined the association of PA with the morbidity and mortality resulting from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection in the South Korean population Patients who tested positive for severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 and who underwent public health screening between 2014 and 2017 (n = 6288) were included Age- and sex-matched controls (n = 125,772) were randomly selected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database Leisure-time PA was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire The mean PA levels were lower in the patient than in the control group (558 2 ± 516 3 vs 580 2 ± 525 7 metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-min/week, p = 0 001) Patients with moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) were associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 morbidity (odds ratio (OR), 0 90;95% confidence interval (CI), 0 86–0 95) In addition, a standard deviation (SD) increment in MET/week (525 3 MET-min/week) was associated with a 4% decrease in the risk of COVID-19 morbidity (OR, 0 96;95% CI, 0 93–0 99) MVPA and an SD increment in MET/week were associated with lower mortality (MVPA: OR, 0 47;95% CI, 0 26–0 87;per SD increment: OR, 0 65;95% CI, 0 48–0 88) Higher levels of regular PA were associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality, highlighting the importance of maintaining appropriate levels of PA along with social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Physical Activity and the Risk of COVID-19 Infection and Mortality: A Nationwide Population-Based Case-Control Study