TITLE:
Effects of an Incentive Virtual Physical Activity Sessions for People with Type 2 Diabetes, during Social Containment due to COVID-19 Pandemic
AUTHORS:
Justine Lacroix, Joëlle Bonis, David Chaparro, Benoit Borel
KEYWORDS:
Chronic Disease, Mental Health, Anxiety, Depression, Lockdown, Home-Based Intervention
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.12 No.4,
November
25,
2022
ABSTRACT: The lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic had induced a negative impact onthephysical, mental and social health of people with chronic diseases, and more specifically Type 2 Diabetes. The study’saim was to evaluate the impact of an incentive Physical Activity (PA) program during the COVID-19 lockdown period onthemental health of people with Type 2 Diabetes. Via an association of patients, people with Type 2 Diabetes were contacted by e-mail to receive virtual PA sessions (from 30 to 60 minutes), 3 timesa weekfor7 weeks. Their mental health status was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale andtheirPA level was assessed using International Physical Activity Questionnaire’s score. Nine people with Type 2Diabetes (64.2 ± 11.5 years) completed the study. The participants’ mental healthstatus was maintained after the incentive intervention or even improved forsome of them, with changesinthe anxiety/depression profile for 3 patients. The PA score was also maintained at the end of the program (p= 0.153). In conclusion,this first exploratory work on the effects of an incentive virtual PA program onthemental health of diabetic people highlighted that this type of e-health approach could be relevant to use for, at least, maintaining the state of anxiety/depression of diabetic people during a lockdown period.