Relationship between the severity of persistent symptoms, physical fitness, and cardiopulmonary function in post-COVID-19, 2022, Jimeno-Almazán et al

Full title: Relationship between the severity of persistent symptoms, physical fitness, and cardiopulmonary function in post-COVID-19 condition. A population-based analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between physical fitness, cardiopulmonary function and patient-reported severity of symptoms in people with post-COVID-19 condition. We examined ambulatory patients (n = 72) with post-COVID-19 condition who had a chronic symptomatic phase lasting > 12 weeks from the onset of symptoms, but had not been hospitalized for acute COVID-19. A comprehensive medical screening was conducted, including clinical history, symptomatology, comorbidities, body composition and physical activity levels. We then identified the relationship between physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength), cardiopulmonary function (echocardiographic and spirometry parameters) and patient-reported severity of symptoms (fatigue, dyspnea, health-related quality of life, anxiety, and depression). Age, body mass index, sex, number of comorbidities and duration of symptoms were included as potential confounders. Results showed that greater physical fitness and cardiopulmonary function were associated with lower severity of symptoms in people with post-COVID-19 condition. Cardiorespiratory fitness, lower-limb muscle strength, maximal voluntary ventilation and left ventricular ejection fraction account for reducing fatigue and dyspnea. Greater physical activity levels were associated with fewer symptoms and less-severe fatigue and dyspnea. In conclusion, preserving better cardiopulmonary health and physical condition during the course of the disease—even in mild cases—was related to a lower intensity of symptoms in non-hospitalized people with post-COVID-19 condition. It is probable that exercise and physical conditioning are valuable pre- and post-COVID-19 countermeasures that could help decrease the severity, not only of acute infection, but of post-COVID-19 persistent symptoms and prognosis.

Open access, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11739-022-03039-0

 

This sounds rather problematic. Deconditioning all over again?

 

If this were true, athletes would be immune from it. The absurdity of some physicians who actually tell people who are still far fitter than they ever were that their illness is caused by not being fit, saying that to someone in far better physical condition than they are, is truly peak pseudoscience. This is why science is based on falsification. You make a hypothesis about what you should find, and especially about what you should never find.

Hypothesis #1: it's a women's disease
Falsification: men also have it, false, not a women's disease

Hypothesis #2: lack of physical fitness causes LC
Falsification: athletes also have it, false

The vast majority of papers published lately on chronic health issues are either full or largely quackery, pseudoscientific circular reasoning is the foundation of most of the claims. All based on the biopsychosocial paradigm, of course. No surprise, pseudoscience leads to... pseudoscience.