Aptidão cardiorrespiratória de jovens ingressantes no serviço militar obrigatório na região do Vale dos Sinos/RS durante a pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

Abstract: High levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in young individuals are associated with a lower risk of cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood, positively impacting their quality of life, especially after the period of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To assess the CRF and quality of life (QoL) of recruits during the first year of mandatory military service amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study with recruits who entered mandatory military service in the Vale dos Sinos region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in the year 2022. The 12-minute Cooper test was applied to evaluate CRF, and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess QoL. Assessments were conducted at the time of entry into military service, after three months, and at the end of military service (eight months after entry). Data are presented as mean ± SD, and Friedman's ANOVA was used to analyze variables at different time points. Sphericity was tested using Mauchly's test, and a significance level of p≤0.05 was adopted for statistical significance (SPSS v21.0). Results: The initial sample consisted of 340 recruits, and the final analysis was performed with 258 recruits. The recruits had a mean age of 18±0.41 years, with 59.7% belonging to social classes B2 and C1, 67.8% were white, and the majority were single (99.6%). There was an improvement in CRF after three months (2819.96±255.94m; p<0.001) and at the end (2921.51±239.26m; p<0.001) of the military service period when compared to the time of entry (2569.13±286.55m) into military service. A significant increase in performance was observed in localized muscular endurance (RML) between the beginning and the end of military service. Particularly, there was a 124.97% increase in performance in four-limb support arm flexion, a 69.99% increase in abdominal flexion, and a 95.83% increase in pull-up performance. Regarding QoL, there was only a change in the physical domain after three months (69.04±12.22 points; p<0.003) and at the end of the service period (71.06±12.84 points; p<0.005) compared to the time of entry (71.66±13.62 points) for the recruits. The psychological, environmental, and social relationship domains showed no change during the follow-up period. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the benefits of mandatory military service in improving physical fitness, which is crucial in the face of the growing sedentary lifestyle problem that has become a risk factor for non-communicable chronic diseases. However, it is important to emphasize that military units should consider other dimensions of quality of life, beyond physical perception, during military service to promote a healthy and balanced environment for their members.