Physical Exercise and Immune System in the Elderly: Implications and Importance in COVID-19 Pandemic Period

Abstract

Physical exercise is seen as the main ally for health promotion, preventing and protecting the organism from several diseases. According to WHO, there is a tendency of constant growth in the elderly population in the coming years. The regular practice of exercises by the elderly becomes relevant to minimize the deleterious effects of the aging process and to increase the fitness index. Recently, the world population started a confrontation against Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), which is the most significant public health challenge globally. Although social isolation is a reasonable measure in an attempt to stop contamination by COVID-19, this measure has limited the ability of individuals to exercise outdoors or in gyms and health clubs, which increased the risk of developing chronic illnesses related to a sedentary lifestyle. The critical point is that the recent recommendations on exercise prescription to combat the potentially harmful effects of COVID-19 failure to adequately address resistance exercise interventions as home-based exercise strategy. Thus, in this paper, we discussed the physical exercise as medicine if the training status is enough to protect the elderly against COVID-19 infection, about the role of physical activity on immunosuppression. Possible risks for COVID-19 infection, and the old training methods, such as no-load resistance training as possible resistance exercise strategies and high-intensity interval training, as new proposals of home-based exercise interventions, could perform during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Vitamin D and Exercise Are Major Determinants of Natural Killer Cell Activity, Which Is Age- and Gender-Specific

“…Physical exercise, nutrition and emotional status were frequently named as the main factors that can influence the immune function. Thus, lifestyle that includes regular physical exercise, healthy dietary and emotional habits were emphasized besides wearing masks and social distancing (1)(2)(3)(4)(5).…”

Aktivitas fisik dan aspek kekhawatiran lansia pada masa pandemi Covid-19

“…Meskipun penurunan ini sangat terkait dengan penurunan fungsi adaptif dari sistem kekebalan, bagian bawaan dari kekebalan tidak dapat menahan pengaruh negatif dari proses penuaan yang dialami oleh lansia (Gayoso et al, 2011). Secara umum, banyak hasil penelitian yang membuktikan bahwa melakukan olahraga atau aktivitas fisik secara teratur dapat meningkatkan harapan hidup yang lebih tinggi dan risiko penyakit kardiovaskular, infeksi yang lebih rendah, meminimalkan efek buruk dari proses penuaan dan meningkatkan indeks kebugaran (Kodama, 2009;Scartoni et al, 2020). Selain itu aktivitas fisik juga mampu meningkatkan sistem kekebalan tubuh dan respons imun terhadap antigen virus, serta mengurangi kejadian infeksi virus sepanjang hidup (Campbell & Turner, 2018;Dorneles, Dos Passos, Romão, & Peres, 2020).…”

Efect Physical Activity and Nutrition During The Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The condition of the Covid-19 pandemic is a challenge for all of us to maintain a healthy physical and quality of life. Therefore, the practice of regular physical activity is invaluable to maintain good physical and mental health when facing the current challenges imposed by covid-19 [13]. Consumption of foods with balanced nutrition and vitamins is one of the keys to avoid contracting the virus that causes Covid-19.…”