Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and states adopted social distancing, social isolation, or quarantine measurements to slow the transmission of the disease. Negative mental health outcomes including depression and anxiety have been associated with social distancing or social isolation. The purpose of the present study was to examine changes in psychological health and physical activity over an 8 week period under social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Ninety (73.3% female; age 32.04 ± 11.33) individuals participated in this study. Qualifying participants answered questions using an online survey regarding their loneliness, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, mood state, and physical activity over four time points each lasting two weeks.Results: Symptoms of depression and state anxiety were increased in the population when compared to nationwide statistics from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Time point 2, ~1 month into social isolation, showed the most significant effects on mental health. During this time point, 100% of the participants showed symptoms of depression. There were no significant changes in physical activity over the 8 weeks. Loneliness, depressive symptoms, fatigue, and mood state were negatively associated with participation in physical activity. Vigor and state anxiety were associated with participation in physical activity.Conclusion: Social isolation and social distancing practices have had a negative effect on depression, anxiety, and mood over time. It appeared that depressive symptoms and total mood disturbance was elevated during time point two. Depressive symptoms were much higher than average compared to previous epidemiological data. Physical activity amount did not change over time but was associated with poor mental health.
The COVID-19 pandemic cause many locales to implement social distancing or social isolation policies to slow the transmission of the disease. Social distancing has previously been shown to contribute to poor mental health and reduced participation in physical activity. On-going isolation can lead individuals to feel detachment from others, feeling uncertain about the future, boredom, and loss of freedom. PURPOSE:The purpose of the present study was to examine self-reported psychological mood and physical activity behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: 199 individuals participated in the study (29.85 ± 10.22 yrs). The participants answered an online survey regarding their loneliness, depression, anxiety, mood state, and physical activity. RESULTS: 56.8% of the sample had symptoms of depression and 72.8% had symptoms of anxiety. Loneliness was correlated with depression (r = 0.66, p < 0.001), trait anxiety (r = 0.35, p < 0.001), and mood disturbance (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). Participation in walking was negatively associated with loneliness (r = -0.21, p < 0.001), depression (r = -0.25, p < 0.001), fatigue (r = -0.22, p < 0.01) and mood disturbance (r = -0.25, p < 0.001). Participation in total physical activity was negatively associated with depression (r = -0.16, p < 0.05)) and mood disturbance (r = -0.16, p < 0.05). Interestingly, participation in physical activity was positively associated with state anxiety (r = 0.26, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Loneliness was associated with negative psychological mood, including depression. Individuals with higher levels of loneliness and depression were less likely to participate in walking. Of note, individuals who experienced higher levels of state anxiety were more likely to participate in physical activity.
Chronic muscle pain (CMP) is a primary complaint of US Veterans of the Persian Gulf War (GWV) currently suffering from Gulf War illness, a chronic multisymptom condition. Although the research literature often characterizes Veterans as stoic, previous research in our lab has demonstrated that GWV with CMP report greater perceived exertion (RPE) and muscle pain during exercise compared to healthy GWV. Given the potential use of these ratings as tools for monitoring and prescribing exercise intensity in patient groups, it is important to quantify their dependability and relationships to symptoms as training progresses. PURPOSE: To evaluate the dependability (i.e., reliability) and sources of variance in RPE and muscle pain ratings across 16 weeks of resistance exercise training (RET), as well as their association with self-reported pain symptoms in GWV with CMP. METHODS: Twenty-six GWV with CMP completed 16 weeks of individualized RET initiated at a low intensity (25-35% of est. max.) with progression as tolerated. Each session consisted of 10 exercises with 2 sets of each. RPE (6-20) and muscle pain (0-10) were reported for each set at its completion. Ratings at weeks 2, 9, and 15 were evaluated separately using generalizability theory, a technique which quantifies the dependability of responses and apportions their variability to the conditions of the testing procedure (i.e., respondents, sets, and exercises). Daily pain symptoms were also recorded for each session. Associations between symptom scores and RPE and muscle pain were calculated using Spearman's rho. RESULTS: Generalizability coefficients were very high for both measures at each time point (ξρ 2 >0.89) indicating a high level of dependability. Respondents were the greatest source of variance throughout. Variance due to exercises, however, was reduced with training progression. No significant relationships between pain symptoms and RPE or muscle pain were noted at any time point (ρ: -0.28 -0.34; p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: RPE and muscle pain ratings exhibit a high degree of dependability for GWV with CMP during exercise, even with training adaptations. This finding supports the use of these ratings as tools for monitoring and prescribing exercise intensity in this population.
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