Dataset Information

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

ABSTRACT: Children and young people (CYP) with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) may be particularly vulnerable to adverse mental health effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional U.K. parent-reported study from 2nd April-2nd June 2020, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. CYP with NDDs (n = 371), compared to neurotypical controls, had a higher prevalence of emotional symptoms (42% vs. 15%) and conduct problems (28% vs. 9%), and fewer prosocial behaviours (54% vs. 22%). All groups had worse emotional symptoms than pre-COVID groups, and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder showed inflated conduct problems, while those with autism spectrum disorder exhibited decreased prosocial behaviours. Females with ASD had higher emotional symptoms compared to males. CYP with NDDs, and those without, showed higher levels of parent-reported mental health problems than comparable cohorts pre-COVID-19.

SUBMITTER: Nonweiler J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7552706 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Nonweiler Jacqueline J Rattray Fiona F Baulcomb Jennifer J Happé Francesca F Absoud Michael M

Children (Basel, Switzerland) 20200904 9

Children and young people (CYP) with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) may be particularly vulnerable to adverse mental health effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional U.K. parent-reported study from 2nd April-2nd June 2020, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. CYP with NDDs (<i>n</i> = 371), compared to neurotypical controls, had a higher prevalence of emotional symptoms (42% vs. 15%) and conduct problems (28% vs. 9%), and fewer prosocial behaviours ...[more]

PMID: 32899799

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Project description:Acute symptomatic seizures and febrile seizures are common in children admitted to hospitals in Africa and may be markers of brain dysfunction. They may be associated with behavioural and emotional problems, but there are no published community-based studies in Africa.We screened 7047 children aged 1-6 years (randomly sampled from 50,000 in the community) for seizures (using seven questions) and invited those who screened positive and a proportion of negatives for a clinical assessment. Risk factors were identified using a parental questionnaire. Behavioural and emotional problems were examined using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) in 3273 children randomly selected from 7047. Generalised linear models with appropriate link functions were used to determine risk factors and associations between behavioural or emotional problems and acute seizures. Sobel-Goodman mediation tests were used to investigate if the association between acute seizures and CBCL scores was mediated by co-diagnosis of epilepsy.Acute seizures were identified in 429 (6.1%) preschool children: 3.2% (95% confidence interval CI: 2.9-3.5%) for symptomatic seizures, and 2.9% (95% CI: 2.6-3.3%) for febrile seizures. Risk factors for acute seizures included family history of febrile seizures (odds ratio OR = 3.19; 95% CI: 2.03-5.01) and previous hospitalisation (OR = 6.65; 95% CI: 4.60-9.63). Total CBCL problems occurred more frequently in children with acute seizures (27%; 95% CI: 21-34%) than for those without seizures (11%; 95% CI: 11-12%; chi-squared p ? 0.001). Acute seizures were associated with total CBCL problems (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.34-2.77), externalising problems (aRR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.21-2.75) and internalising problems (aRR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.22-2.02), with the proportion of the comorbidity mediated by a co-diagnosis of epilepsy being small (15.3%; 95% CI: 4.5-34.9%). Risk factors for this comorbidity included family history of febrile seizures (risk ratio (RR) = 3.36; 95% CI: 1.34-8.41), repetitive acute seizures (? = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.15-0.57) and focal acute seizures (RR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.05-3.08).Acute seizures are common in preschool children in this area and are associated with behavioural and emotional problems. Both conditions should be assessed and addressed in children.

Dataset Information

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Publications

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

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