ABSTRACT
Objective:
This study analyzed the impact of sex on self-reported health and lifestyle parameters in peripheral artery disease patients at two periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
In this longitudinal study, 99 patients with peripheral artery disease (53 men and 46 women) were evaluated during two periods of the COVID-19 pandemic ( i.e ., at onset: May to August 2020, and on follow-up: May to August 2021). Patients were interviewed via telephone, and information regarding lifestyle and health parameters was obtained.
Results:
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, health and habit parameters were similar between women and men, with 63.0% and 45.3% indicating frequent fatigue, 73.9% and 84.9% reporting increased sitting time, and 23.9% and 39.6% practicing physical activity, respectively. At follow-up, difficulties in physical mobility (women: from 26.1% to 73.9%, p<0.001; men: from 39.6% to 71.7%, p=0.001) and the frequency of hospitalization for reasons other than COVID-19 increased similarly in women and men (women: from 4.3% to 21.7%, p=0.013; men: from 9.4% to 24.5%, p=0.038). The other parameters were similar between the periods.
Conclusion:
Self-reported physical mobility difficulties and hospitalization frequency increased in women and men with peripheral artery disease.
Keywords:
COVID-19; Coronavirus infections; Pandemics; Peripheral arterial disease; Social isolation; Intermittent claudication; Sex characteristics; Life style; Exercise; Mental health
Highlights
▪ Sitting time increased in 73.9% of women and 84.9% of men at the onset of the pandemic.
▪ Physical activity was practiced by 23.9% of women and 39.6% of men at the onset of the pandemic.
▪ The prevalence of both women and men reporting physical mobility difficulties increased at follow-up.
▪ Hospitalization rates for reasons unrelated to COVID-19 have increased in both women and men.
In Brief
While women experience more consequences related to peripheral artery disease than men, such as worse functional capacity and higher morbidity, there was a similar increase in physical mobility difficulty and frequency of hospitalization for reasons other than COVID-19 one year after the onset of the pandemic.
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