Table 2 Changes before and one year after the pandemic and difference between the two groups.

From: The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical fitness in young adults: a historical control study

Total

Study group

Historical control

N = 2239

N = 3137

Baseline mean (SD)

After

Mean change (SD)

Baseline mean (SD)

After

Mean change (SD)

Mean Difference [95%CI]

P value

Height (cm)

161 (7)

162 (7)

0.09 (1.46)

162 (7)

162 (7)

0.66 (1.46)

−0.55 [−0.63 to −0.48]

 < 0.001

Weight (kg)

53.8 (9.1)

53.8 (9.6)

0 (3.9)

54.1 (9.5)

53.9 (9.7)

−0.24 (3.8)

0.29 [0.09 to 0.50]

0.004

BMI (kg/m2)

20.6 (3)

20.6 (3.1)

−0.03 (1.5)

20.7 (3)

20.4 (3)

−0.3 (1.47)

0.24 [0.17 to 0.32]

 < 0.001

Vital capacity (ml)

2911 (623)

2998 (661)

87 (465)

3059 (661)

3085 (669)

26 (392)

19.72 [−0.48 to 39.91]

0.06

50 m (s)

8.96 (0.89)

9 (0.91)

0.04 (0.53)

8.98 (0.93)

8.93 (0.97)

−0.05 (0.6)

0.07 [0.04 to 0.1]

 < 0.001

Anaerobic fitness

71 (10)

70 (11)

−0.7 (9)

70 (10)

71 (11)

0.7 (11)

−0.84 [−1.33 to −0.36]

0.001

Standing long jump (cm)

176.5 (25.1)

177.2 (25.2)

0.7 (13.2)

176 (25.8)

180.8 (26.1)

4.8 (12.3)

−3.43 [−4.07 to −2.79]

 < 0.001

Explosive fitness

69 (14)

69 (14)

0.5 (12)

66 (16)

70 (14)

4 (12)

−2.68 [−3.24 to −2.12]

 < 0.001

Sit and reach (cm)

16.4 (5.51)

19.2 (5.69)

2.8 (5.05)

16.07 (6.09)

17.43 (5.68)

1.36 (4.75)

1.5 [1.26 to 1.73]

 < 0.001

Flexibility

76 (12)

82 (11)

6 (11)

75 (15)

78 (12)

4 (13)

2.73 [2.22 to 3.25]

 < 0.001

Total score

69 (8)

70 (8)

1 (6)

67 (10)

70 (9)

3 (7)

−0.98 [−1.31 to −0.66]

 < 0.001

Male

Study group

Historical control

N = 329

N = 560

Baseline mean (SD)

After

Mean change (SD)

Baseline mean (SD)

After

Mean change (SD)

Mean difference [95%CI]

P value

Height (cm)

172 (6)

172 (6)

0.2 (1.6)

172 (6)

173 (6)

0.8 (1.6)

−0.56 [−0.77 to −0.35]

 < 0.001

Weight (kg)

62.9 (10.6)

64.2 (11.9)

1.3 (5.3)

63.22 (11.2)

63.8(11.3)

0.6 (4.3)

0.71 [0.07 to 1.36]

0.029

BMI (kg/m2)

21.28 (3.37)

21.68 (3.79)

0.39 (1.85)

21.37 (3.55)

21.4 (3.61)

0.03 (1.48)

0.36 [0.14 to 0.58]

0.001

Vital capacity (ml)

3940 (579)

4000 (670)

61 (606)

4111 (590)

4147 (628)

36 (456)

−11.78 [−77.95 to 54.4]

0.73

50 m (s)

7.44 (0.58)

7.5 (0.64)

0.06 (0.51)

7.59 (0.53)

7.5 (0.68)

−0.09 (0.55)

0.11 [0.04 to 0.18]

0.003

Anaerobic fitness

79 (11)

78 (12)

−1 (10)

76 (9)

78 (11)

2 (9)

−2.13 [−3.37 to −0.89]

0.001

Standing long jump (cm)

223.3 (20.5)

223.1 (22)

−0.2 (19.6)

219.2 (20.8)

224.8 (20.9)

5.6 (15.5)

−4.29 [−6.46 to −2.12]

 < 0.001

Explosive fitness

64 (18)

63 (20)

−0.8 (19)

59 (20)

64 (19)

5 (16)

−3.37 [−5.45 to −1.28]

0.002

Sit and reach (cm)

13.8 (5.6)

16.8 (6.1)

2.9 (5.9)

13 (7)

14.3 (6.4)

1.3 (5.7)

1.89 [1.21 to 2.58]

 < 0.001

Flexibility

73 (13)

79 (11)

6 (13)

71 (18)

74 (14)

4 (15)

3.72 [2.22 to 5.21]

 < 0.001

1000 m run (s)

247.8 (24.2)

250.2 (25)

2.4 (22.9)

251 (32.5)

247.2 (25.9)

−3.9 (30.4)

4.43 [1.4 to 7.46]

0.004

Aerobic fitness

63 (13)

62 (14)

−1.3 (14)

61 (16)

63 (14)

2 (16)

−2.25 [−3.92 to −0.57]

0.01

One−minute pull−ups (repetitions)

9 (5.4)

9.3 (5.2)

0.3 (3.8)

8.6 (5.7)

7 (5.1)

−1.7 (5.6)

2.16 [1.58 to 2.74]

 < 0.001

Muscular strength

46 (33)

48 (33)

1 (24)

43 (34)

33 (32)

−10 (36)

13.12 [9.39 to 16.85]

 < 0.001

Total score

65 (12)

66 (12)

1 (9)

62 (12)

62 (12)

0.4 (10)

1.46 [0.29 to 2.63]

0.02

Female

Study group

Historical control

N = 1910

N = 2577

Baseline mean (SD)

After

Mean change (SD)

Baseline mean (SD)

After

Mean change (SD)

Mean difference [95%CI]

P value

Height (cm)

160 (5)

160 (5)

0.07 (1.44)

159 (5)

160 (5)

0.64 (1.44)

−0.55 [−0.64 to −0.47]

 < 0.001

Weight (kg)

52.2 (7.82)

52 (7.9)

−0.23 (3.55)

52.2 (7.9)

51.8 (7.8)

−0.43 (3.62)

0.21 [0.01 to 0.42]

0.04

BMI (kg/m2)

20.49 (2.86)

20.39 (2.9)

−0.11 (1.44)

20.52 (2.82)

20.19 (2.78)

−0.33 (1.46)

0.22 [0.14 to 0.3]

 < 0.001

Vital capacity (ml)

2734 (429)

2826 (482)

92 (436)

2830 (405)

2854 (400)

24 (377)

24.58 [4.22 to 44.94]

0.02

50 m run (s)

9.22 (0.64)

9.26 (0.66)

0.04 (0.53)

9.29 (0.68)

9.24 (0.71)

−0.05 (0.61)

0.06 [0.03 to 0.1]

 < 0.001

Anaerobic fitness

70 (9)

69 (10)

−0.6 (8)

69 (10)

69 (11)

0.4 (11)

−0.64 [−1.17 to −0.12]

0.02

Standing long jump (cm)

168.5 (14.9)

169.3 (15.4)

0.9 (11.7)

166.6 (14.9)

171.2 (15)

4.7 (11.5)

−3.24 [−3.88 to −2.61]

 < 0.001

Explosive fitness

70 (13)

70 (12)

0.8 (10)

68 (15)

72 (12)

4.2 (11.3)

−2.54 [−3.08 to −2]

 < 0.001

Sit and reach (cm)

16.9 (5.4)

19.6 (5.5)

2.7 (4.9)

16.7 (5.7)

18.1 (5.3)

1.4 (4.5)

1.41 [1.16 to 1.66]

 < 0.001

Flexibility

77 (12)

82 (11)

6 (11)

76 (14)

79 (11)

3 (12)

2.52 [1.98 to 3.07]

 < 0.001

800 m run (s)

239.7 (19.2)

243.9 (20.9)

4.2 (17.5)

237.4 (24.4)

235.4 (19.7)

−2 (23.3)

7.36 [6.33 to 8.38]

 < 0.001

Aerobic fitness

67 (12)

64 (14)

−3 (13)

67 (15)

68 (12)

1 (15)

−4.28 [−4.97 to −3.59]

 < 0.001

One-minute sit-ups (repetitions)

33.6 (7.5)

35.5 (8.1)

1.9 (6.2)

31.7 (8.8)

35.4 (8.2)

3.7 (6.9)

−1.07 [−1.42 to −0.72]

 < 0.001

Muscular strength

66 (13)

68 (13)

2 (11)

61 (18)

68 (14)

6 (15)

−1.52 [−2.16 to −0.87]

 < 0.001

Total score

70 (7)

71 (7)

1 (6)

68 (8)

71 (7)

3 (6)

−1.44 [−1.75 to −1.13]

 < 0.001

  1. CI, confidence interval, SD, standard deviation. BMI, body mass index. Within-group changes for baseline, after and mean changes are expressed as mean (SD). Mean difference for the comparison between the study group and historical control was calculated by the linear mixed models and expressed as mean difference [95% CI]. The score is based on grading standards for Chinese university students. The total score is the mean of all other fitness scores for males and females. P < 0.05 is considered statistically significant.
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