People who exercise regularly can reduce the risk of developing pneumonia and dying because of it, compared to those that are less active, according to a new study led by the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) and published in 'Geroscience' , which has first analyzed ten studies of population cohorts with more than one million participants.
Dr. Seter Kunutsor, professor holder of testing synthesis at the Faculty of Medicine of Bristol and corresponding author of the article, has indicated that, "although our study could not determine the amount and intensity of physical activity that is essential to prevent pneumonia Some of the results suggest that walking for 30 minutes once a week has a protective effect on death by pneumonia, "details.
Thus, he remembered that, during the winter months, and with the Covid-19 still circulating, developing severe pneumonia for this reason and for other respiratory diseases is "something usual". "Performing physical activity regularly could reduce the risk of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, especially in risk groups, such as older adults and those who suffer from underlying diseases," she says.
Research does not demonstrate the existence of a cause-effect relationship and more studies are needed to demonstrate if the associations demonstrated are causal. In addition, additional work must be carried out to confirm the amount and intensity of physical activity, which is essential for the prevention of pneumonia or deaths related to it.
Finally, given that the regular exercise was self-reported, the values could be biased, so future studies should focus on assessing physical activity with the use of accelerometers or podometers.
Pneumonia is an infection of lung tissue generally caused by bacteria or virus and is one of the main causes of death among elderly, young people and people with pre-existing health conditions. In 2016, the disease was the fourth cause of death in the world.
Pneumonia is also associated with poor health, reducing quality of life and high sanitary costs. It is known that smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic diseases such as diabetes and kidney disease increase the risk of pneumonia, which is a preventable cause of death and disability.
The results of the study are added to the well-documented tests that regular physical activity has the potential to reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, infectious diseases such as pneumonia, as well as death. In addition, physical activity has enormous health benefits in general, as well as to reduce health costs caused by pre-existing diseases.
Date Of Update: 12 January 2022, 03:52
