ABSTRACT
Background. The aim of the research was to analyze the changing exercising frequency, the well-being, the mental health, and the social relationships before and during the curfew of the COVID-19 first wave. Material and methods. The data collection was May-June in 2020 via an online questionnaire survey amongst the sportsmen and professionals in the sports sector. The descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used with the SPSS 27.0 software (Chi-square test, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests). Results. The respondents were 44.17% female and 55.83% male. The average age was 36.36 +/- 16.52 years. The sample was classified into four sectors: elite sportsmen (20.60%), recreational sportsmen (34.29%), sports professionals (28.21%) and multiple roles (16.90%). There was a significant difference at the exercising frequency before and during the curfew between the sectors (p<0.001). The well-being, the mental health and the social relations did not show any significant differences. Regarding physical activity, there were decreases in every category:-268.36 minutes weekly average in the elite sportsmen,-194.90 minutes weekly average in the recreational sportsmen and-250.33 minutes weekly average in the multiple roles' category (p<0.001). Conclusions. The curfew of the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the exercising frequency and physical activity amongst the sportsmen and professionals in the sports sector.
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this randomized controlled trial was to analyze the acute effects of a nitrate-based nutritional formula on peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO(2)), patient-reported outcomes, and safety indices in patients with acute COVID-19 infection. The participants completing the protocol for the trial (n = 71) were allocated in a double-blind design to receive either a multicomponent nutritional formula (containing 1200 mg of potassium nitrate, 200 mg of magnesium, 50 mg of zinc, and 1000 mg of citric acid), or a placebo (2.5 g of inulin) during a 72-h monitoring period. All participants were requested to take an intervention (four capsules;weight of each capsule was similar to 2.5 g) every 4 h during the intervention period. A two-way mixed model ANOVA with repeated measures revealed a significant difference in SpO(2) between interventions (P = 0.007). As many as 30 out of 38 patients (78.9%) receiving nitrate-based nutritional formula, who all started the treatment with SpO(2) <= 95%, finished the intervention with SpO(2) of at least 95% at 72-h follow-up, whereas in the placebo group, 13 patients out of 33 (39.4%) finished the trial with SpO(2) of at least 95% (P < 0.05). The hospital admission rate after the 72-h follow-up was 21.1% in patients receiving nitrate-based formula compared to 33.3% in the placebo group (P = 0.25). The nitrate-based formula might be recognized as a potent strategy to tackle hypoxemia and concomitant features of the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, it appears that the novel nitrated-based nutritional formulation described here was able to improve oxygen saturation and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Although the exact mechanism of action remains unknown, the nitrate-based formula might be recognized as a potent, safe, and convenient strategy to tackle hypoxemia and concomitant features of the COVID-19 pandemic.