COVID-19, mental health and physical activity

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, many studies have been carried out to examine how the mental health of people worldwide is being affected. Robinson and colleagues published in January 2022 a meta-analysis of 65 studies that compared participants' mental health before and during the pandemic.

The results showed that there was a significant but statistically small increase of psychopathology. The increases were more significant for depression, as opposed to smaller changes in anxiety disorder symptoms. The overall increase in mental health symptoms was most pronounced in the first two months after the WHO declared a pandemic.

In fact, in another study, the relationship of physical activity with deterioration in mental health during the pandemic was investigated and what was found is that higher physical activity is associated with higher well-being, quality of life as well as lower depressive symptoms, anxiety and stress, irrespective of age. In addition, it was found that women were more vulnerable to changes in mental health and men were more prone to changes in physical activity.

Journal Reference:

Robinson, E., Sutin, A. R., Daly, M., & Jones, A. (2022). A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies comparing mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Journal of affective disorders, 296, 567–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.09.098