EVALUATION OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND BODY COMPOSITION IN YOUNG PATIENTS SURVIVORS OF COVID-19 IN MILD CASES.

• Grant number: 23/03770-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Audrey Borghi Silva
• Grantee: Caroline da Costa Bretas Gentilini
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 tobe a widely disseminated epidemic disease. The main studies regarding the 2019 coronavirus(COVID-19) are part of the assessment of the functional capacity of these individuals, to thedetriment of compromised lung function, also considering additional factors such as physicaldeconditioning, musculoskeletal complications related to steroids, neuropathy/myopathyrelated to comorbidities. However, there are no studies that correlate possible cardiacautonomic dysfunctions with increased percentage of body fat in young survivors who havereduced heart rate variability.Aim: To assess heart rate variability, body composition and persistent symptoms in youngsurvivors of mild cases of COVID-19 after one month of infection.Study Design: Observational and cross-sectional study. All patients diagnosed with mildCOVID-19 screened at the University Hospital of UFSCar after one month of infection willbe invited to participate.Methods: All volunteers will undergo the following steps: (I) Clinical evaluation; (II) Heartrate variability (HRV) at rest and during MASR using an elastic band (Polar HRV10, Polar,Kempele, Finland) and (III) Body composition using the InBody® 720 (Biospace Co. Ltd ,Seoul, Korea), after one month of COVID-19.Hypothesis: First, we hypothesize that young patients surviving mild COVID-19 havereduced heart rate variability and consequently the presence of persistent symptoms onemonth after infection. We believe that surviving patients have marked cardiac autonomicdysfunction, and these alterations are directly related to the increase in the percentage of bodyfat.