Did Covid-19 Affect Athletes Respiratory Functions Over Time?

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Abstract
The aim of the study is to determine whether the development of respiratory functions over time was affected in athletes who had Covid-19. This retrospective study included a total of 14 athletes who had Covid-19 (8 in judo and 6 in skiing) as the research group, and a total of 12 athletes who did not have Covid-19 (8 in judo and 4 in skiing) as the control group. Data were collected from routine performance measurements taken in 2019 and 2021. Athletes' respiratory function and respiratory muscle strength were assessed using a digital spirometer (Pony FX Cosmed, Italy). For data analysis, Skewness and Kurtosis values, along with Shapiro-Wilk test results, were considered to examine the distribution. Mixed Design Two-Way ANOVA was used to compare changes over time and between groups, and to determine interaction effects. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS 25.0 software. It was found that respiratory function test scores and respiratory muscle strength scores increased over time in tests conducted at two different time points. However, Covid-19 did not statistically significantly affect this improvement.The findings of the study may serve as a source for observing the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the development of respiratory parameters.

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