Investigation of changes in the physical activity and fall experience before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the changes in physical activity levels and the rate of falls during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Korean population. The Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) conducted in 2019 was compared with that conducted in 2020. Simple or multiple linear regression with complex sampling was conducted to calculate the estimated value (EV) of physical activity in the 2020 group vs. the 2019 group. The odds ratio (OR) of fall histories was calculated using simple or multiple logistic regression with complex sampling for the 2020 group compared to the 2019 group. The time spent on vigorous and moderate physical activity was lower in the 2020 group than in the 2019 group (EV = −10.0, 95% CI = −12.1 to −8.0, P < 0.001 for vigorous exercise and EV = −24.0, 95% CI = −26.7 to −21.4, P < 0.001 for moderate exercise). The rate of falls was lower in the 2020 group than in the 2019 group (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.62 to 0.70, P < 0.001). Vigorous and moderate exercise decreased after the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic. The occurrence of falls was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical activity
• falls
• COVID-19
• case-control studies
• cohort studies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Prof Hyo Geun Choi had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis

Concept and design: Hyo Geun Choi.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.

Drafting of the manuscript: So Young Kim, Hyo Geun Choi.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Hyo Geun Choi.

Obtained funding: Hyo Geun Choi, Woo-Jin Bang

Supervision: Hyo Geun Choi, Woo-Jin Bang

Data sharing

Release of the data by the researcher not legally permitted. All data are available from the database of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (kdca.go.kr). The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides all of these data for purchase by any researcher who promises to follow the research ethics guidelines. The data used for this article can be downloaded from the website after promising to follow the research ethics guidelines.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2022.2102914

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by a research grant (NRF-2021-R1C1004986 and NRF-2022R1C1C1003077) from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea. Role of the Funder: The funders had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript.