Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents: determinants and association with quality of life and mental health, a cross-sectional study

Viviane Richard, Roxane Dumont, Elsa Lorthe, Andrea Loizeau, Hélène Baysson, María-Eugenia Zaballa, Francesco Pennacchio, Rémy P. Barbe, Klara M. Posfay-Barbe, Idris Guessous & Silvia Stringhini for the SEROCoV-KIDS group.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents: determinants and association with quality of life and mental health-a cross-sectional study.. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 17, 17 (2023). doi: 10.1186/s13034-023-00563-5.

Abstract:

Background: The medium-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of children and adolescents remain uncertain. More than two years after the start of the pandemic, we sought to quantify the frequency and determinants of a severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to estimate its effect on the well-being of the youngest children.

Methods: Data were obtained from a population-based cohort of children and adolescents recruited between December 2021 and June 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland (SEROCoV-KIDS study). An online questionnaire was completed by their parents. The Coronavirus Impact Scale was used to assess the multidimensional impact of the pandemic on young people. A score greater than one standard deviation above the mean was considered to represent a severe impact. Parents also completed validated scales to measure their children's health-related quality of life and mental health. The determinants of a severe impact of the pandemic were assessed using logistic models, as were the associations between a severe impact of the pandemic and poor quality of life or poor mental health.

Results: Of the 2101 participants aged between 2 and 17, 12.7% had experienced a severe impact of the pandemic. Having a chronic health problem, an increase in screen time or a decrease in physical activity due to the pandemic, or an unfavourable family environment were associated with a severe impact of the pandemic, whereas past infection with SARS-CoV-2 was not. Participants who had experienced a severe impact of the pandemic were more likely to have a poor quality of life (aOR = 3.1; 95% CI 2.3 to 4.4) and poor mental health (aOR = 3.9; 95% CI 2.5 to 6.2).

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic may have had lasting effects on the well-being of children and adolescents, particularly among young people who are vulnerable in terms of their family or their health.

Link to the article in English