Moderating Effect Of Gender-Based Differences On Physical Activity And Fatigue Among Recovered COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

PURPOSE: Clinical data point toward gender-based differences in COVID-19 severity. However, there is insufficient research examining whether gender differences predict physical activity (PA) and fatigue severity in patients recovering from COVID-19. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the PA and fatigue severity in a cohort of patients recovering from COVID-19 and measure the extent to which gender-based differences moderate the relationship of PA with fatigue. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample comprised patients recovering from COVID-19 over at least 3 months. Recovered patients were stratified into two groups based on gender. The survey included items pertaining to sociodemographic, a fatigue severity scale (FSS) and a self-reported international PA questionnaire (IPAQ). Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted in analysis. To assess the moderating effect of gender in this research, a simple moderator regression analysis was done using the PROCESS macro, version 3.5.3. The data were analyzed using statistical software. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients (44 women and 43 men) met the inclusion criteria. Compared with men, most women were more likely to report sedentary behavior (70%) and high fatigue severity (64%). A significantly higher number of women had a low PA score on the IPAQ compared with men (p = .002). Compared with men, there was a significant difference in the proportions of women who had greater fatigue (p = .001). The results of multiple linear regression analyses for the association between gender and total METs of PA and fatigue severity as dependent variables showed that the gender is considered a significant independent predictor of total PA and fatigue severity (R2 = .17, p = .003; R2 = .34, p = .002), respectively. Gender moderates the relationship between self-perceived fatigue and total PA (= .001, SE = .006, p = .03), which suggests that gender is a moderator of the effect of total PA on fatigue severity. CONCLUSION: the current study illustrated the incidence of lower levels of PA and a higher FSS result in women who had recovered from COVID-19. Considering the importance of increasing PA levels and decreasing fatigue levels, longitudinal studies to encourage PA engagement among female and to control fatigue are recommended.