{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:51:31Z","timestamp":1787028691681,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,4]],"date-time":"2024-07-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1720051200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JFMK"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Three years after the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, a chronic post-COVID syndrome \u201cLONG COVID\u201d persists, causing fatigue and shortness of breath, along with distress, anxiety, and depression. Aim: To assess the impact of physical activity on the management and rehabilitation of LONG COVID, as well as to investigate the persistence of LONG COVID symptomatology in individuals over 40 years, beyond the pandemic. Methods: A total of 1004 participants (aged 53.45 \u00b1 11.35) were recruited through an online snowball sampling strategy to complete a web-based survey. The following questionnaires were administered: Physical Activity Scale for Elderly (PASE), Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (SOBQ), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), and Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC). Results: Significant gender differences were discovered, with women reporting higher symptoms than men (p &lt; 0.001). Significant age differences were also found, with participants under 55 showing higher values than those over 55 (p &lt; 0.001). No significant differences were found between aerobic and mixed physical activity (p &gt; 0.05) while significant results emerged between physical activity groups and the no activity group (p &lt; 0.001). The low-frequency group reported higher symptoms than the high-frequency group (all ps &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Regardless of the type of physical activity performed, our survey identified the frequency of training as a crucial factor to overcome LONG COVID symptoms; the challenge lies in overcoming the difficulties due to the persistent feelings of inefficiency and fatigue typical of those who have contracted the infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jfmk9030119","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,4]],"date-time":"2024-07-04T03:52:58Z","timestamp":1720065178000},"page":"119","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Regular Physical Activity Can Counteract LONG COVID Symptoms in Adults over 40"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6188-1137","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Centorbi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1468-7491","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Di Martino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-5345-0045","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlo","family":"della Valle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4547-3130","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enzo","family":"Iuliano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology, eCampus University, 22060 Novedrate, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gloria","family":"Di Claudio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amelia","family":"Mascioli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4680-1535","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Calcagno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4517-3100","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"di Cagno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome \u201cForo Italico\u201d, 00135 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2560-5789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Buonsenso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3786-7818","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni","family":"Fiorilli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1177\/00368504211019854","article-title":"COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Global Lockdown and Its Far-Reaching Effects","volume":"104","author":"Onyeaka","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. 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