The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown Measures on Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Behaviour in a Relatively Young Population Living in Kosovo

To abate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, different restriction measures were imperative, limiting the possibility to be engaged in physical activity. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on physical activity (PA) levels expressed as energy expenditure (MET-min/week) and sedentary behaviour in Kosovo. The possible association between PA levels and other factors was analyzed. 1633 participants (age range: 13 to 63 years; mean: 24.70 ± 9.33 years; body height: 172 ± 10.57 cm; body mass: 69.10 ± 13.80 kg; BMI: 23.09 ± 3.63 kg/m2) participated in the study, categorized by age, gender, BMI, and living area. An online survey, including an adapted version of the IPAQ-SF, was administered once during lockdown to assess PA levels and sedentary behaviour both before and during COVID-19 lockdown. The Wilcoxon signed-rank, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis rank of sum tests were used for statistical analysis. COVID-19 restrictions had a negative impact on the types of and overall PA levels MET-min/week (p < 0.001). Sedentary behaviour significantly increased during COVID-19 restrictions (p < 0.001). Higher decreases in MET-min/week during lockdown were observed among males, young and young adults, overweight, and urban-living participants. Finally, COVID-19 restrictions decreased the PA levels and MET-min/week, and increased sedentary behaviour also in a relatively young cohort. Such differences were dependent on several factors

Sport for development as a tool for social change and cohesion in Kosovo

In recent years a topic called “Sport for Development” (S4D) has been used by different international organizations as a tool of social change and social cohesion. No poverty, decent work and economic growth, quality education, gender equality and other SDGs (The 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals provided by United Nations members in 2015) have been “tackled” in the 3rd world countries by applying initiatives and ideas through untraditional sport movements. Kosovo as a new developing country has been part of these programs since 2017. It started after the exodus of 2015-16 where a lot of people from Kosovo sold all they had and fled illegally towards Western European countries (Germany, France, Austria etc.) for a better life, but as a result these countries made sure to send these people back where they came from. German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in September 2017 started a project called “Kick-off: Sports activities for potentials development (ASAP) “, where 15 professors, coaches, social workers and students from all around Kosovo got trained on how to use untraditional models of sports to impact in social change, especially how to reintegrate the returnees in everyday life. This was only the starting point of a following path where a lot of trainings, workshops and projects took place in different topics as gender equality, inclusion, quality education and lately employability. Existing and newly established non-governmental organizations in cooperation with international organizations are using S4D in our country as a tool to strengthen individuals, create networks and initiate strategies in order to reach a various set of sustainable development objectives

Impact of the COVID-19 Confinement on Physical Activity Levels and Energy Expenditure in Kosovo Population

Numerous restriction measures were imposed globally to abate the spreading of COVID-19 virus. The current study aimed to investigate the levels of physical activity, expressed as energy expenditure (MET-min/Week), among Kosovo population pre and during COVID-19 confinement. 1633 (810 males and 823 females) physically active Kosovar participants (mean age: 24.75 ± 9.46 years; body height; 172 ± 10.56 cm; body mass: 69.12 ± 13.80 kg; BMI: 23.09 ± 3.63 kg/m2) were included in the study. An adapted version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ-SF) was translated into Albanian language and was administered to the participants through an online survey. Total weekly physical activity level, expressed as energy expenditure (MET-min/week) was calculated based on the well-known concept of metabolic equivalent (MET). The Man-Whitney U test was used to test the difference between pre and during COVID-19 confinement on PA levels, energy expenditure and between genders. As expected, significant decrease of the total weekly energy expenditure during the COVID-19 confinement (p \u3c 0.001) was observed. A significant difference in the MET–min/week between the pre and during confinement condition (p \u3c0.001) was found for males and females. Based on our results, it can be concluded that the COVID-19 confinement has negatively affected the practice of PA, with both genders expressing lower MET-min/week during the COVID-19 condition

Potential prognostic factors for hamstring muscle injury in elite male soccer players: A prospective study.

Hamstring injuries remain the most common injury type across many professional sports. Despite a variety of intervention strategies, its incidence in soccer players playing in the UEFA Champions League has increased by 4% per year over the last decade. Test batteries trying to identify potential risk factors have produced inconclusive results. The purpose of the current study was to prospectively record hamstring injuries, to investigate the incidence and characteristics of the injuries, and to identify possible risk factors in elite male soccer players, playing in the Kosovo national premier league. A total of 143 soccer players from 11 teams in Kosovo were recruited. To identify possible prevalent musculoskeletal or medical conditions a widespread health and fitness assessment was performed including isokinetic strength testing, Nordic hamstring strength test, functional tests, and a comprehensive anamnesis surveying previous hamstring injuries. On average 27.9% of the players sustained at least one hamstring injury with three players suffering bilateral strains with the re-injury rate being 23%. Injured players were significantly older and heavier and had a higher body mass index compared to non-injured ones (p < 0.05). There was a lower passing rate in the Nordic hamstring strength test and a higher injury incidence among the previously injured players compared to non-injured ones (p < 0.05). Except for hamstring/quadriceps ratio and relative torque at 60°/sec (p < 0.05) for dominant and non-dominant leg, there were no other significant differences in isokinetic strength regardless of the angular velocity. No differences were observed for functional tests between cohorts. Regression analysis revealed that age, Nordic hamstring strength test, previous injury history, and isokinetic concentric torque at 240°/sec could determine hamstring injuries by 25.9%, with no other significant predicting risk factors. The battery of laboratory and field-based tests performed during preseason to determine performance related skills showed limited diagnostic conclusiveness, making it difficult to detect players at risk for future hamstring injuries

Physical fitness and anthropometric characteristics among adolescents living in urban or rural areas of Kosovo

Abstract Background High physical fitness levels in childhood and adolescence are associated with positive health-related outcomes later in life. Albeit many researchers investigated rural-urban differences in physical fitness, the outcomes of these studies are inconsistent and data on Kosovo are widely missing. Thus, this study aims to examine anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in 14 to 15 year old Kosovan adolescents living in rural and urban areas. Methods Two schools from Pristina (mostly urban population) and two schools in the surrounding villages of the district of Deçan (mostly rural population) were selected. Anthropometric and physical fitness parameters were determined from a total of 354 adolescents (216 urban: 14.5 ± 0.4 years, 138 rural: age 14.5 ± 0.4 years) who volunteered to participate in this cross-sectional study performed in 2013/14. Results The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 18.9% in girls and 28.2% in males and excess body fat was detected in 18.2% of the girls and 15.9% of the boys with no differences between rural and urban adolescents. Rural adolescents performed slightly better in relative handgrip strength (+4.7%, p = 0.032) and running speed (10 m: +2.2%, p = 0.012; 20 m: +1.9%, p = 0.035), but no other differences were detected in standing long jump, counter movement jump, cardiorespiratory fitness and sit and reach test. A multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that being a female was associated with a lower relative risk for overweight (RR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03–0.34, p < 0.001) and high body fat content (RR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05–0.56, p < 0.001). In addition, higher handgrip strength, longer sprinting time and lower aerobic fitness were associated with a higher relative risk for overweight and excess body fat. In contrast, lower handgrip strength increased the risk for experiencing thinness (RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.89–0.96, p < 0.001). Conclusions It could be shown that there is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, especially in 14 to 15 year old boys in Kosovo which does not differ between rural and urban areas. Worse physical performance is associated with a higher risk for overweight and obesity highlighting the importance for interventions in this area and for starting longitudinal observations of a secular trend

Analysis of Exertion-Related Injuries and Fatalities in Laborers in the United States

Laborers are particularly vulnerable to exertional injuries and illnesses, as they often engage in heavy physical work for prolonged hours, yet no studies have examined the top causes of catastrophic exertional injuries and fatalities among this population. The purpose of the investigation was to characterize the top causes of exertional injury and fatality within open access, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reportable data. A secondary analysis of OSHA reported injury and fatality data was performed through open access records from OSHA Severe Injury Reports (2015&ndash;2022) and OSHA fatality inspection data (2017&ndash;2020), respectively. The research team characterized each reported injury and fatality as &ldquo;exertion-related&rdquo; or &ldquo;non-exertion-related. Injury and fatality rates were reported per 100,000 equivalent full-time worker years and included 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Of 58,648 cases in the OSHA Severe Injury Report database from 2015&ndash;2020, 1682 cases (2.9%) were characterized as exertional (0.20 injuries per 100,000 full-time worker years, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.22). Heat-related injuries encompassed 91.9% of the exertional injuries (n = 1546). From the 2017&ndash;2022 OSHA fatality inspection database, 89 (1.9%) of 4598 fatalities were characterized as exertion-related (fatality rate: 0.0160 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, 95% CI: 0.009, 0.0134). The exertion-related fatalities primarily consisted of heat-related cases (87.6%). Exertion-related injuries and fatalities were most reported in Southeast states, in the construction and excavation industry, and among nonunionized workers. As heat stress continues to be recognized as an occupational health and safety hazard, this analysis further highlights the need for targeted interventions or further evaluation of the impact of heat stress on construction and excavation workers, nonunionized workers, and workers in Southeastern states

Additional file 1: of Physical fitness and anthropometric characteristics among adolescents living in urban or rural areas of Kosovo

Fitness and anthropometric raw data (XLSX 54 kb