A pattern of respiratory dysfunction in mild cases of postCOVID-19 athletes: an emerging hypothesis

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate fitness indicators through cardiac stress test in post-COVID-19 athletes, who were not hospitalized, vs healthy ones. Forty male professional Greek soccer players, were divided into two groups previously infected with COVID-19 and non-hospitalized (n=20, Age 25.2+/-4.1 yrs, BSA 1.9+/-0.2 m2, body fat 11.8+/-3.4 %) vs. control (n=20, Age 25.1+/-4.4 yrs, BSA 2.0+/-0.3 m2, body fat 10.8+/-4.5 %). Inclusion criteria were age >=20-to-<=30 yrs, training age >=6 yrs, without recent injury (>12 months) and asymptomatic infected with COVID-19 (<7 days). For each athlete, prior to assessment cardiopulmonary function (CPF) were recorded body composition, spirometry and lactate blood level. Differences between groups were assessed with the independent samples t-test (<0.05). Several differences were detected between the two groups (COVID-19 vs. non-COVID-19 athletes, Table 1) during CPF. Results didn't showed differences between groups in VO2max (55.7+/-4.4 vs. 55.4+/-4.6 ml/min/kg Table 1. Results between groups (*p<0.05, #p<0.001) Post-COVID-19 athletes characterized by increased respiratory work at both rest and maximum effort as well as hyperventilation during exercise, which may explain increased metabolic needs and mechanical stress.