The use of digital platforms and physical activity practice in a population from southern Brazil: Findings from the PAMPA Cohort.

Objective: We aimed to identify the factors associated with using digital platforms for physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults living in Southern Brazil. We also compared the trajectory of physical activity between users and non-users and by type of digital platform used. Methods: We analyzed data from the PAMPA (Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health in Adults) cohort. The study started in June 2020, and tracked participants through three waves (December 2020, June 2021, and June 2022). The exposure variable was usingf digital platforms for physical activity. The outcome measure was minutes per week of physical activity. We employed a generalized linear model with robust variance to explore the interaction between time and the use of digital platforms, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates and the presence of chronic diseases. Results: The proportion of participants using digital platforms for physical activity declined from 36.8% in 2020 to 25.6% in 2021 and further to 13.5% in 2022. Using digital platforms for physical activity was associated with a higher mean daily physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants who used digital platforms were more likely to be physically active when compared to their inactive contemparts throughout the entire study period. Notably, social media emerged with greater influence in the physical activity practice among digital platforms. Conclusion: Using these platforms had a positive impact on increasing the level of physical activity among the participants.

Exercise as medicine! Physical activity mitigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive symptoms in adults with depression.

We investigated the longitudinal association between physical activity (PA) and symptoms of depression and anxiety in people with depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used data from baseline (June 2020) to wave 3 (June 2021) of the PAMPA Cohort, an ambispective cohort with adults in south Brazil. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale assessed depressive and anxiety symptoms in all waves. Participants reported frequency (minutes), type (aerobic, strength, combined), and place (out of home, at home) of physical activity at baseline. Generalized linear models were used to investigate the interaction between time and PA, adjusting for possible confounding variables. Subjective memory decline was assessed using multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models to obtain adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and respective 95% confidence interval (CI). Participants (n = 424) with self-reported clinically diagnosed depression were included. We observed a non-linear increase trajectory of depression during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. PA was associated with a slower trajectory of depressive (slope: -1.89; 95%CI: -3.34, -0.43 points) but not anxiety (slope: -1.33; 95%CI: -2.93, 0.25 points) symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants who continued physically active from pre-pandemic in wave 1 showed a lower risk of subjective memory decline during follow-up than those who persisted inactive in the same period (HR: 0.52; 95%CI: 0.30, 0.89). PA attenuated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive symptoms in adults living with depression in south Brazil. Regularity of physical activity was associated with fewer depression and anxiety symptoms and a lower risk of subjective memory decline.

Systematic review and meta-analysis on population attributable fraction for physical inactivity to dementia.

INTRODUCTION: The number of cases of dementia attributable to physical inactivity remains unclear due to heterogeneity in physical inactivity definitions and statistical approaches used. METHODS: Studies that used population-based samples to estimate the population attributable fraction (PAF) of physical inactivity for dementia were included in this review. Weighted PAFs were adjusted for communality among the risk factors (i.e., inactive persons may also share other risk factors) analyzed. Values were reported as percentage (%) of cases of dementia attributable to physical inactivity. RESULTS: We included 22 studies. The overall impact of physical inactivity, defined by any criteria, on dementia ranged from 6.6% (95% CI: 3.6%, 9.6%; weighted) to 16.6% (95% CI: 14.4%, 18.9%; unweighted). Studies using the WHO criterion for physical inactivity estimated a higher unweighted impact (ß = 7.3%; 95% CI: 2.0%, 12.6%) than studies using other criteria. DISCUSSION: Conservatively, one in 15 cases of dementia may be attributable to physical inactivity, defined by any criteria.