SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS: REPERCUSSIONS OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

ABSTRACT Introduction: In order to face COVID-19, social restriction measures were adopted that influenced the population's living habits, increasing sedentary lifestyle. Considering the high complexity and dedication required by the Medicine course, it becomes relevant to investigate the effect of the pandemic on the practice of physical exercise and sedentary behavior of these students. Objective: Identify changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior self-reported by medical students in the city of Salvador, Bahia, before and during the self-confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Longitudinal, prospective, quantitative study carried out with regularly enrolled medical students over 18 years of age. A virtual, structured, anonymous, self-completed questionnaire was applied, containing sociodemographic and academic aspects. In addition, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was applied in its short version, considering the period before and during the pandemic. Through this, the level of physical activity, sedentary behavior and time spent walking and performing moderate and vigorous activities were measured. Results: 268 medical students were included, predominantly women (65.7%), white (50.0%) and mixed race (38.8%), aged 24.2 ± 5.5 years, single (90.7%), attending the clinical cycle (59.0%), in private institutions (78.4%). No statistically significant differences were identified in the level of physical activity and in the time spent with moderate and vigorous activities. However, there was a reduction in walking time (p<0.00001) and an increase in sedentary behavior (p=0.001) during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the greatest impact among women (p=0.0009). Conclusion: The repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have been shown to increase the sedentary behavior of medical students, especially among women, and to reduce activity time spent with walking. Longitudinal studies are needed to analyze the medium and long-term consequences of this change in the healthy lifestyle habits of medical students. Level of evidence II; Comparative prospective study.