ArticleChild and adolescent psychiatry and mental health2022
Lifestyle changes, mental health, and health-related quality of life in children aged 6-7 years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Germany.
Article in Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- How the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures reduce physical activity among children and adolescents in the WHO European Region: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Pooled it
- The Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Monitoring the Adverse Implications of Coronavirus 2019-induced Pulmonary Complications on Patients' Respiratory Capacity and Physical Abilities with Moderate and Severe Signs during Interval Follow-up.Journal of medical signals and sensors · 2026Article
- The impact of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic on the mental health of scoliosis patients in Germany.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Development and initial validation of the health-related quality of life pictorial inventory for children (HEALTH-PIC).Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Child and adolescent mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic: an overview of key findings from a thematic series.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Review
- Psychometric validation of the Chinese versions of EQ-5D-Y-3L and the experimental EQ-TIPS in children and adolescents with COVID-19.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between the COVID-19 pandemic and sleep characteristics in children and parents.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Emotion regulation strategies and mental wellbeing among Chinese college students during COVID-19: the moderating roles of confinement and attentional bias.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The impact of lockdown on child adjustment: a propensity score matched analysis.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Exploration of the factors influencing the quality of life among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: the data from a cross-sectional study in Shandong.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Evolution of Youth's Mental Health and Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Tyrol, Italy: Comparison of Two Representative Surveys.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Changes in social behavioral developmental risks in preschool children after the first COVID-19 wave: a prospective longitudinal cohort study.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Trajectories of child mental health, physical activity and screen-time during the COVID-19 pandemic considering different family situations: results from a longitudinal birth cohort.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2023Article
- Orthokeratology compliance, digital device use, and myopia control among children with myopia during COVID-19 home confinement in Taiwan.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Changes in mental health in the German child and adolescent population during the COVID-19 pandemic - Results of a rapid review.Journal of health monitoring · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe measures against the COVID-19 pandemic are challenging for children and parents, and detrimental effects on child health are suggested especially from lock-down measures and school closings.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis using a population based longitudinal (birth-) cohort study (SPATZ study) conducted in the South of Germany. Data included all 6 or 7 year old children for whom a questionnaire was completed during first grade of school. Consequently, we were able to analyze children being in first grade before the first lockdown in Germany (≤ 15th March 2020), as well as children being in first grade during the pandemic (> 15th March 2020). We conducted descriptive statistics and estimated the associations between the two time periods, before and during the pandemic, and various outcomes of child health using multivariable adjusted linear or logistic regression modeling. The analysis was stratified by gender.
resultsResults among n = 362 children aged six or seven years showed substantially lower mean scores of health-related quality of life (difference in means: - 5.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) - 9.0, - 2.0), and higher mean scores in total emotional and behavioral difficulties (difference in means: 2.0, 95% CI 0.2, 3.8) in girls during vs. before the COVID-19 pandemic using multivariable linear regression modeling. In addition, weekly screen-time was increased in boys by 3.5 h (95% CI 0.6, 6.4). We did not find substantial differences in sleep quality, physical activity, and time spent with books, neither in boys nor in girls, however, the limited sample size has to be considered.
conclusionChild health (and behavior) of first grade school children is possibly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with adverse consequences possibly differing by gender.
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