Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36300437›Full record

ArticleJournal of primary care & community health

The Adverse and Advantage Effects of Wearing a Facemask in Thai Children: A Survey During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Kritchawan Ratchatavech, Leelawadee Techasatian, Sunee Panombualert, Rattapon Uppala

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of primary care & community health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Risks and benefits of face masks in children.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Kritchawan RatchatavechKhon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Leelawadee TechasatianKhon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0003-4668-6792
Sunee PanombualertKhon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Rattapon UppalaKhon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0003-1903-0907
Khon Kaen University · TH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is little information on facemask use during the COVID-19 pandemic in the pediatric population. This became the main purpose of the present study to investigate demographic data of facemask wearing in children, types, and length of facemask, as well as the benefits, drawbacks, and negative consequences of facemask wearing in this population.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire sent via Google Forms. Caregivers for consecutive convenience were asked in the survey (parents of children under the age of 18).

resultsA total number of 706 children were enrolled. There were 320 boys (45.33%), and 386 girls (54.67%). The children's ages range between 4 months and 18 years, with a median age of 9 years. A surgical mask (549, 77.76%) was the most frequent type of facemask in the study population, followed by a cloth mask (86, 12.18%). Facemasks have been shown to be beneficial in the pediatric population. When compared to a former time when facemasks were not used routinely, there were considerably fewer respiratory infections, reduced diarrhea symptoms, and a drop in hospital admissions. In 317 cases (44.9%), children were shown to have negative consequences from wearing facemasks. The most prevalent adverse effect observed in the study population was non-cutaneous (respiratory discomfort/breathing difficulty) which were found in 240 cases (33.99%). Double masking method (surgical + surgical) and wearing a facemask oversize revealed a higher risk in the presence of facemask adverse effects, whereas wearing a proper size facemask reduces the risk of adverse effects from facemask use in children (Adjusted OR [95% CI] = 0.55 [0.38-0.78],

conclusionsWearing a proper-size facemask reduces the risk of adverse effects from facemask use in children. The future suggestion of an appropriate facemask size for a certain age will aid in the avoidance of facemask adverse effects in the pediatric population.

Indexed as

COVID-19MasksChildCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansInfantMalePandemicsSurveys and QuestionnairesThailandadverse effectchildrenCOVID-19facemask

Identifiers

PMID36300437
PMCPMC9614596
OpenAlexW4307770830

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.