Working status and seasonal meteorological conditions predict physical activity levels in people living with HIV

Abstract

Little is known about how demographic, employment and meteorological factors impact physical activity. We conducted an analysis to explore these associations from participants (N = 447) from six cities in the United States and matched their activity data with abstracted local meteorological data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather reports. Participants were purposively recruited in 3month blocks, from December 2015 to October 2017, to reflect physical activity engagement across the seasons. We calculated total physical activity (minutes/week) based on 7-day physical activity recall. Mild correlations were observed between meteorological factors and correlated with lower physical activity. Participants were least active in autumn (Median = 220 min/week) and most active in spring (Median = 375 min/ week). In addition to level of education and total hours of work, maximum temperature, relative humidity, heating degree day, precipitation and sunset time together explained 17.6% of variance in total physical activity. Programs assisting in employment for PLHIV and those that promote indoor physical activity during more strenuous seasons are needed. Additional research to better understand the selection, preferences, and impact of indoor environments on physical activity is warranted.

The Social, Mental, and Physical Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People With HIV: Protocol of an Observational International Multisite Study

“…A socioecological approach facilitates exploration of factors influencing health from multiple social systems levels (Figure 1). This approach is consistent with previous studies conducted by and the philosophical underpinnings of the International Nursing Network for HIV Research (Corless et al, 2017;Dawson Rose et al, 2014;Phillips et al, 2013;Sullivan et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2022;Webel et al, 2019).…”