The influence of social communication and anthropometric parameters on the school-age children's mental health after the lifting of strict quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic including social isolation was a stress trigger for adaptation systems in different population groups. Therefore, the study of these processes is relevant. Since the lack of communication is one of the risk factors the non-communicable diseases, as well as mental health disorders, and this relationship is bidirectional, the purpose of our study was to study the impact of social communication of school-age children with different metabolic statuses on their mental health during adaptation to the effects of stress factors. Materials and methods. The anthropometric indicators and characteristics of communication of 114 school children (56 boys, 58 girls, average age 12.3±0.2 years) were studied. Informed consent was obtained from the parents. The weekly survey of the anxiety-depressive signs (TDS) was conducted using the RCADS-P-25 questionnaire during the 5 weeks after the lockdown lifted. ANOVA, crosstabulation tables, and a multiple linear regression model were used to determine the relationships between variables. The STATISTICA 8.0 program was used for statistical analysis. Results. Among school-age children of the surveyed cohort, the proportion of overweight and obese children was 26.3±4.1 %. 34.6±4.7 % of students had communication difficulties with their peers. It was established that overweight and obese children had significantly higher TDS levels than the normal-weight group throughout the study (F=10.9; p<0.001). It was determined that TDS values were significantly higher in the group of children who had difficulties with "live" communication with peers (F=17.6; p<0.001). The highest values of TDS were determined in children who communicated in social networks for 4 hours or more or did not communicate at all, and the lowest indicators were found in children who communicated for 1-2 hours a day (F=9.6; p<0.001). There was no statistically significant influence of the frequency of communication in social networks on TDP values (p>0.6). Conclusions. Communication in social networks with peers lasting 1-2 hours was a favorable adaptation factor in this study, while "live" communication difficulties and overweight/obese were unfavorable, which requires additional study. It is necessary to develop both the communication skills of school-age children and the culture of communication in social networks.