ABSTRACT
Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 caused a pandemic in 2020 with a 'lockdown' resulting in reduced mobility. Activity tracker companies noticed reduced physical activity (PA) in the general population. If observed in patients, this may add to the devastating consequences of physical inactivity. Aim: To investigate PA levels of lung transplant (LTX) recipients before and during the Belgian soft lockdown measures of COVID-19. A decline in daily step count during lockdown measures was hypothesized. Methods: 16 LTX recipients (56% male, mean±SD age 61±6.7 years, 30.2±12.7 months post LTX) involved in an RCT (NCT04122768) were included in the present sub-analysis. Daily step counts were collected by activity trackers, >4 weeks prior to (phase 1) and 4 weeks during the Belgian lockdown (phase 2). The differences in PA between both phases were compared with paired t-tests. Results: Daily number of steps was low in phase 1 (mean±SD 6910±4225 steps/day) but did not change during phase 2 (7016±5665 steps/day), p=0.89, see figure 1. Conclusions: The Belgian COVID-19 lockdown measures did not significantly affect the PA levels of LTX recipients compared to the preceding period.