Evaluation of physical activity level and use of nutritional supplements as factors determining COVID-19 disease severity

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of physical activity and the use of nutritional supplements as factors determining the severity of Covid-19 disease. The study included 955 individuals (77,7% of whom were women) between the ages of 18 and 64 with positive Covid-19 test results. The data collection form developed by the researchers and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) were used to collect the data. Volunteers participated in the study through the research link created via Google e-forms. In data analysis, numerical variables were compared with the significance test of the difference between two means or the Mann-Whitney U test, and categorical variables were compared with the Chi-Square test, Fisher's exact test, or Fisher-Freeman-Halton test. A logistic regression analysis was used to assess the factors influencing hospitalization due to Covid-19. Physical activity energy expenditure (MET- min/wk) was found to be lower in individuals hospitalized due to Covid-19 compared to those who were not hospitalized (p<0,001). Hospitalized patients (%87,5) had higher levels of low physical activity (<600 MET- min/wk) than non-hospitalized patients (%53,6) (p<0,001). Furthermore, low physical activity level increased hospitalization due to Covid-19 by 5.31 times compared to moderate and high physical activity levels (p<0,05). No significant difference was observed between the hospitalization rates of those who participated in moderate to vigorous physical activity for less than 150 minutes per week and those who had 150 minutes or more per week (p>0,05). Hospitalization rates due to Covid-19 differed significantly between the frequency categories of low to moderate physical activity participation (p<0,05). The percentage of those who "rarely or never" participated in low-to-moderate activities was higher in hospitalized patients (40%) than in non- hospitalized patients (19.7%). There was no significant difference between the frequency of participation in high-intensity physical activities in terms of hospitalization rate (p>0,05). There was no significant difference between the hospitalization rates of those who used nutritional supplements before or during the Covid-19 disease and those who did not (p>0,05). In conclusion, the findings of this study indicated that individuals with higher levels and frequencies of physical activity may have lower hospitalization rates due to Covid-19 disease, whereas nutritional supplement use had no significant effect on the severity of the disease. Keywords: Covid-19, disease severity, immunity, physical activity, nutritional supplements