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- The Relationship Between Anxiety Levels, Sleep, and Physical Activity During COVID-19 Lockdown: An Exploratory StudyPublication . Frontini, R.; Rebelo-Goncalves, Ricardo; Amaro, Nuno; Salvador, Rogério Paulo; Matos, Rui; Morouço, Pedro; Antunes, RaulNowadays and worldwide, the attention is focused on coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and its consequences on mental health are yet to be fully understood. It is important to capture differences in anxiety levels among populations, groups, and the gender-related variation. Therefore, the present study had two main purposes: (1) to characterize the levels of state anxiety and trait anxiety by examining gender-related, sleep-related, and physical activity-related variations in a nonrepresentative sample of the Portuguese population during the first weeks of lockdown; and (2) to explore the possible relationship between trait anxiety and state anxiety and the possible role of gender as a moderator. This cross-sectional study comprised 1,332 Portuguese adults (aged 18–55 years old) recruited online during COVID-19 outbreak measures. Participants answered to sociodemographic data and the Portuguese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Gender differences were found in both state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.385) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.467) with females presenting higher values. People reporting doing more physical activity than usual during COVID-19 lockdown presented lower levels of state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.200). People reporting more satisfaction with the quality of sleep presented lower levels of both state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.701) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.899). Variation associated with the physical activity level (low, moderate, and high) was significantly different among groups in both state anxiety (p = < 0.001) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001). When analyzing in more detail separating the levels of physical activity, participants performing moderate and high physical activity showed lower values of state and trait anxiety compared to participants with low physical activity. Participants performing high physical activity also showed lower values of state anxiety compared to participants performing moderate physical activity. Higher levels of trait anxiety were related to higher levels of state anxiety, but this association was not moderated by gender. Interventions aiming to support people psychologically during this outbreak should consider anxiety as well as gender and possible behavioral changes in sleep and physical activity, for example. Health professionals should not only consider the anxiety related to the situation we are living but also address trait anxiety to help overcome COVID-19 psychological consequences.
- Association Between Food Choices Motivators and Physical Activity in Body Image (dis)Satisfaction in Portuguese AdolescentsPublication . Dias, Sara Simões; Lages, Marlene; Frontini, R.; Luís, Luís; Dixe, Maria dos Anjos; Sousa, PedroConcerns about weight and body image are common among adolescents since they are particularly vulnerable to body-image dissatisfaction due to the normal physiological, social, and psychological changes they are going through. This study aims to analyse the relationship between food choice motivations and physical activity in body-image perception among adolescents. Twelve to sixteen years old adolescents were recruited from three school districts. The Portuguese version of the Food Choices Questionnaire (FCQ) was used to assess food choice motivators, and the Quantification de l'Activité Physique en Altitude Chez les Enfants was used to assess physical activity and to calculate daily energy expenditure (DEE). Body image perception was measured using Collins' sequence of seven silhouettes. Body image (dis)satisfaction was estimated by the present body shape minus the desired body shape. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to compare groups, and the post-hoc Bonferroni test was used to compare target groups. A multinominal logistic regression was performed to analyse the association between gender, age, hours of sport's competition, FCQ, and body dissatisfaction. All analyses were performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0. The sample comprised 286 adolescents (51.4% females). Means of FCQ categories varied between 0.33 and 0.97 (range: −2 to 2). Regarding the categories of FCQ, statistically significant differences were found in the category of body satisfaction and weight control among the three groups (p = 0.004). A preventive effect was found of choosing food regarding body satisfaction and weight control, on body-image dissatisfaction.
- Higher Physical Activity Levels May Help Buffer the Negative Psychological Consequences of Coronavirus Disease 2019 PandemicPublication . Antunes, Raul; Rebelo Gonçalves, Ricardo; Amaro, Nuno; Salvador, Rogério Paulo; Matos, Rui; Morouço, Pedro; Frontini, R.This study explored the associations between physical activity (PA) anxiety levels, and the perception of satisfaction of basic psychological needs (BPN), during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown. Thus, 1,404 participants (977 women, 426 men, and one respondent preferred not to answer) ranging from 18 to 89 years old (36.4 ± 11.7 year-old) completed a questionnaire in the period between 1st and 15th April 2020. The survey included sociodemographic data and the following validated instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Basic Need General Satisfaction Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to examine variation in anxiety levels and BPN satisfaction according to PA category (low, moderate, and high). Spearman’s Rho correlations coefficients were used to determine the association between anxiety levels and psychological needs. Individuals presenting a higher level of PA revealed lower levels of anxiety-state (H = 20.14; p < 0.01). Differences between elements from different levels of PA were found for the autonomy (H = 23.52; p < 0.001), competence (H = 18.89; p < 0.001), and relatedness (H = 24.42; p < 0.001) psychological needs, suggesting that those who feel their BPN as more satisfied have higher levels of PA. The study found statistically significant correlations between anxiety-state and the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy (p = 0.01; r = −0.46), competence (p = 0.01; r = −0.40), and relatedness (p = 0.01; r = −0.21). These findings support the importance that PA has in the anxiety levels during social isolation, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary teams in an individual-based approach.