Physical Activity, Mental Health and Wellbeing of Irish Adolescents during Covid-19 Restrictions. A Re-Issue of the Physical Activity and Wellbeing Study (PAWS)

Abstract

Covid-19 restrictions impacted many people’s daily lives through infection, fear of infection and the implementation of restrictions on movement. Restrictions and fear of contamination impacted physical activity patterns activity and increased mental health issues globally across a variety of ages. This re-issue of a questionnaire sought to examine the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on frequency of physical activity, participation in sports, wellbeing and symptoms of anxiety and depression in Irish adolescents. 3,021 adolescents from 61 post-primary schools in the Republic of Ireland completed questionnaires. Consistent with a previous issue of the questionnaire, a minority of adolescents were found to meet the WHO’s physical activity guidelines (11.6% of males and 5.2% of females) although there were large decreases in 1st year males and females. Adolescents reporting elevated symptoms of depression increased from 39% to 46% with almost 3 in 5 females reporting symptoms of depression ranging from mild to extreme. Highest levels of wellbeing were found in adolescents who participated in 3 or more sports, although there was an 8% reduction in the amount of adolescents who participated in 3 or more sports. There were no changes in physical activity levels overall, despite changes within sub-groups and patterns of physical activity. There was a clear increase in symptoms of depression, with females impacted more than males. Previously active individuals were more likely to increase activity and therefore report higher levels of mental health while those who were less active were more likely to decrease activity and report lower mental health.

Longitudinal changes and correlates of meeting WHO recommended levels of physical activity in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the HEBECO study

“…However, this study extends beyond these studies, identifying significant drops between these waves and the August-September wave during the period of eased restriction and November-January wave during the second lockdown in the UK [2, 51,52]. In general, MVPA attainment in this sample was far lower than might be expected from other estimates of PA in the UK population prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, persisting beyond the initial strict lockdown [39,53,54]. This may be underpinned by the persistence of changes from the strict lockdown period into daily life beyond the pandemic such as continued home working and the persistence of closures and restrictions on group activities.…”

“…Few studies to date have provided longitudinal evidence beyond the period of eased restrictions, using the framework of WHO recommendations for PA [20,21,39] that i) corroborates the persistence of associations with these sociodemographic, health and lifestyle factors; ii) examines whether poor PA engagement is reversed after lockdown is eased; and iii) whether any improvement of PA habits during the inter-lockdown periods is lost during subsequent lockdowns. Lastly, given the new, emerging, unprecedented restructuring of telework and office hours for many worldwide, this question is of global pertinence.…”

Cross-sectional study of gender differences in physical activity-related injuries amongst Chinese college students majoring in rehabilitation

“…Active PA may decrease the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases ( 1 , 2 ). Increased physical activity may lead to increased wellbeing in young people ( 3 ). Besides, active engagement in PA has been reported to improve physical fitness, such as VO 2 max indicators ( 4 ).…”