Table 2.
Effects of 4-week exercise training on physiological parameters in long COVID, coronary and fibromyalgia patients.
| Variable | COVID Group | Coronary Group | Fibromyalgia Group | Time Effect p-Value | Effect Size | Group Effect p-Value | Time-by-Group Interaction p-Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE | POST | PRE | POST | PRE | POST | |||||
| Cardiorespiratory | ||||||||||
|
VO2 at VT1
(mL·min−1·kg−1) |
15.6 ± 5.03 | 17.3 ± 4.74 | 12.4 ± 3.49 | 13.3 ± 4.10 | 13.5 ± 3.49 | 15.2 ± 3.96 | <0.001 | 1.5013 | 0.020 | 0.517 |
|
VO2 peak
(mL·min−1·kg−1) |
23.0 ± 5.92 | 27.0 ± 7.22 * | 19.0 ± 4.52 | 20.4 ± 5.25 * | 19.7 ± 4.83 | 22.8 ± 6.18 | <0.001 | 2.928 | 0.039 | 0.019 |
| MAP (W) | 133 ± 50.9 | 154 ± 55.7 | 105 ± 29.9 | 124 ± 33.8 | 95 ± 36.4 | 112 ± 40.4 | <0.001 | 18.711 | 0.031 | 0.756 |
| Muscular | ||||||||||
| Handgrip force (kg) | 31.3 ± 10.1 | 35.7 ± 10.0 | 34.4 ± 9.08 | 36.6 ± 10.5 | 21.9 ± 10.6 | 28.7 ± 11.3 * | <0.001 | 4.636 | 0.121 | 0.059 |
| Autonomic | ||||||||||
| Resting HR (bpm) | 88.8 ± 13.7 | 85.4 ± 11.9 | 69.8 ± 9.52 | 68.0 ± 12.8 | 78.6 ± 14.6 | 77.3 ± 10.9 | 0.059 | −2.0925 | <0.001 | 0.634 |
| BRS (ms·mmHg−1) | 6.06 ± 3.02 | 7.29 ± 3.02 | 7.03 ± 5.54 | 8.95 ± 12.3 | 6.78 ± 5.48 | 7.31 ± 4.48 | 0.580 | 1.1809 | 0.276 | 0.821 |
| RMSSD (ms) | 27.7 ± 12.5 | 31.0 ± 13.3 | 36.4 ± 27.9 | 41.8 ± 41.0 | 20.9 ± 16.8 | 23.5 ± 19.2 | 0.082 | 3.231 | 0.045 | 0.994 |
| LF (ms2) a | 5.30 ± 1.06 | 5.30 ± 1.34 | 4.70 ± 1.54 | 5.07 ± 1.62 | 5.45 ± 2.05 | 5.44 ± 1.05 | 0.430 | 0.1367 | 0.231 | 0.510 |
| HF (ms2) a | 4.43 ± 1.17 | 4.39 ± 1.32 | 4.20 ± 1.49 | 4.39 ± 1.55 | 4.81 ± 1.67 | 4.84 ± 1.03 | 0.630 | 0.0781 | 0.419 | 0.863 |
| LF/HF a | 0.868 ± 0.965 | 1.08 ± 1.31 | 0.506 ± 0.749 | 0.679 ± 0.660 | 0.633 ± 0.964 | 0.598 ± 0.912 | 0.246 | 0.1198 | 0.224 | 0.482 |
PRE, initial assessment; POST, final assessment; VO2 at VT1, oxygen uptake at the first ventilatory threshold; VO2 peak, maximal oxygen uptake reached at the end of cardiopulmonary exercise test; MAP, maximum aerobic power; HR, heart rate; BRS, baroreflex sensitivity; RMSSD, square root of the mean squared differences of successive R-R intervals; LF, low frequency; HF, high frequency. Cardiorespiratory variables were obtained by a CPET; muscular variable was obtained by a force prehension on a hand dynamometer; autonomic variables were obtained by a resting heart recording. a Values were log transformed in order to correct the skewed distribution. * Post hoc test, COVID significantly different from Coronary in POST, p < 0.005.