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The Deconditioning Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unaffected Healthy Children.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating direct consequences on the health of affected patients. It has also had a significant impact on the ability of unaffected children to be physically active. We evaluated the effect of deconditioning from social distancing and school shutdowns implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the cardiovascular fitness of healthy unaffected children. This is a single-center, retrospective case-control study performed in an urban tertiary referral center. A cohort of 10 healthy children that underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing after COVID-19 hospital restrictions were lifted was compared to a matched cohort before COVID-19-related shutdowns on school and after-school activities. Comparisons of oxygen uptake (VO₂) max and VO₂ at anaerobic threshold between the pre- and post-COVID-19 cohorts were done. The VO₂ max in the post-COVID cohort was significantly lower than in the pre-COVID cohort (39.1 vs. 44.7, p?=?0.031). Only one out of ten patients had a higher VO₂ max when compared to their matched pre-COVID control and was also the only patient with a documented history of participation in varsity-type athletics. The percentile of predicted VO₂ was significantly lower in the post-COVID cohort (95% vs. 105%, p?=?0.042). This study for the first time documented a significant measurable decline in physical fitness of healthy children as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions. Measures need to be identified that encourage and facilitate regular exercise in children in a way that are not solely dependent on school and organized after-school activities.

SUBMITTER: Dayton JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7780912 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Deconditioning Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unaffected Healthy Children.

Dayton Jeffrey D JD Ford Kelley K Carroll Sheila J SJ Flynn Patrick A PA Kourtidou Soultana S Holzer Ralf J RJ

Pediatric cardiology 20210104 3

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating direct consequences on the health of affected patients. It has also had a significant impact on the ability of unaffected children to be physically active. We evaluated the effect of deconditioning from social distancing and school shutdowns implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the cardiovascular fitness of healthy unaffected children. This is a single-center, retrospective case-control study performed in an urban tertiary referral center. A cohor ...[more]

PMID: 33394120

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Project description:BackgroundObsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a distressing psychiatric disorder. Traumas may trigger or aggravate OCD symptoms. COVID-19 pandemic has coursed a global crisis and has been associated with onset of psychiatric disorders in adults. Little is known about children/adolescents with OCD. The present study aimed to examine how children/adolescents with OCD react towards COVID-19 crisis.MethodsA questionnaire was distributed to two separate groups of children/adolescents. One group was a clinical group newly diagnosed at a specialized OCD clinic. All the children/adolescents had a current close contact to a therapist or doctor. The other group was a survey group identified through the Danish OCD Association. Most of these children/adolescents were diagnosed years ago, and their primary treatment was completed. For the clinical group, data from patient files was available.ResultsIn both groups, but most pronounced in the survey group, participants experienced a worsening of their OCD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The aggravation of OCD correlated with the worsening of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and the extent of avoidance behavior. For both groups, OCD aggressive symptoms predicted a significant worsening. Poor baseline insight showed a trend to predict a symptom worsening. The worsening was most pronounced in children with early age of onset and a family history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is one of the first studies examining the effect of COVID-19 in children/adolescents with OCD. The effect was examined in two separate populations strengthening the findings. The study points towards an influence of the OCD phenotype, baseline insight suggesting a continued vulnerability, and a family history of psychiatric disorders.Trial registrationThe study is approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (1-16-02-147-20) registered 1st of April 2020. Oral and written information was given to parents and patients and written consent from patients over 15?years and parents were received.

Dataset Information

The Deconditioning Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unaffected Healthy Children.

Publications

The Deconditioning Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unaffected Healthy Children.

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