Effect of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents and Children: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The aim of the present systematic review was to assess and provide an up-to-date analysis of the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children and adolescents. Thus, an electronic search of the literature, in two well-known databases (PubMed and Web of Science), was performed until February 2021 (without date restriction). PRISMA guideline methodology was employed and data regarding the HRQoL were extracted from eligible studies. Articles were included if they met the following inclusion criteria: (a) children and/or adolescent population (4 to 19 years old); (b) HRQoL as a main assessment; (c) German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English language; and (d) pre-pandemic and during pandemic HRQoL data. Following the initial search, 241 possible related articles were identified. A total of 79 articles were identified as duplicates. Moreover, 129 articles were removed after reading the title and abstract. Of the remaining 33 articles, 27 were removed since they were not focused on children or adolescents (n = 19), articles did not report pre- and post- pandemic HRQoL values (n = 6), articles were not focused on HRQoL (n = 6), and one article was an editorial. Finally, six studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and, therefore, were included in the systematic review. A total of 3177 children and/or adolescents during COVID-19 were included in this systematic review. Three articles showed that COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the HRQoL of children and adolescents, and another did not report comparison between pre- and during COVID-19 pandemic, although a reduction in the HRQoL can be observed. Nevertheless, two articles did not find significant changes and another one did not report p-values. Regarding sex differences, only two studies analyzed this topic, observing no differences between girls and boys in the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on HRQoL. Taking into account these results, this systematic review might confirm that COVID-19 has a negative impact on the HRQoL of children and/or adolescents.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’ Mental Health and Sleep in Saudi Arabia

“…Young adult females have reported a higher severity of symptoms of depression and higher levels of psychological distress (including anxiety) than their young adult male peers in Germany, Japan, and Saudi Arabia [19,20,44]. In addition, a systematic review also found that the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted females psychological and mental health, more than males [45]. Similarly, female students at the University of Zaragoza in Spain reported more stress due to the pandemic [46].…”

Children’s Eating Habits, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Media Usage before and during COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

“…Apart from studying at school, children undertake many additional activities, such as horse riding, swimming, dancing, learning foreign languages, etc. The limitation of these activities also limited contact with friends, which significantly increased efforts to maintain relationships through social media and various types of communicators [ 8 ]. It significantly influenced their health, including nutrition, physical exercise, sleep, and social functioning, increasing their media use [ 9 ].…”

Potential Improvement in Rehabilitation Quality of 2019 Novel Coronavirus by Isometric Training System; Is There “Muscle-Lung Cross-Talk”?

“…Several studies have demonstrated that physical fitness and moderate-intensity training also have reverse correlations with risks of disease and premature fatality [15,16], which can be that immune response function and improved types of immune markers can be increased by exercise in some diseases. These diseases can include low-grade inflammation, hypertension, stroke, osteoporosis, cancer (e.g., colon, lung, stroke, and breast), chronic infectious disease, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cognitive impairment and obesity [6,17,18].…”

“…It is safe to exercise during the COVID-19 epidemic in healthy individuals, taking the necessary precautions, such as exercising at home. After COVID-19 disease, due to the spread of infection, the patients will not be able to exercise [ 16 , 19 ]. COVID-19 mortality is on average 2%, whereas most people are treated after a specified period.…”