Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Original article

Vol. 151 No. 4546 (2021)

COVID-19 pandemic and health related quality of life in primary school children in Switzerland: a repeated cross-sectional study

  • Bettina Bringolf-Isler
  • Johanna Hänggi
  • Bengt Kayser
  • L. Suzanne Suggs
  • Alain Dössegger
  • Nicole Probst-Hensch 
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/SMW.2021.w30071
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2021;151:w30071
Published
12.11.2021

Summary

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting containment measures had and still have a profound impact on everyday life. Both the fear of infection and the imposed restrictions can have biopsychosocial consequences. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether there is a difference in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of primary school children in 2014/15 compared to in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: The present study included 1,712 children aged 5 to 11 years who either participated in the baseline assessment of the SOPHYA cohort study in 2014/15 or were newly recruited during follow-up of the cohort in 2020. In both surveys, the children invited for participation were identified based on registry data. HRQoL was assessed with the validated KINDL-R questionnaire, which scores HRQoL along six different dimensions.

RESULTS: The overall scores (82.4 [81.8; 83.0] vs. 79.6 [79,1; 80.2]), and in particular the emotional well-being scores (85.6 [84.6; 86.6] vs. 83.3 [82.4; 84.2]), were lower during the year of the pandemic (2020) compared to the survey year 2014/15. The highest decrease between 2014/15 and 2020 in the adjusted models was seen for the youngest age group (–3.9 points), followed by children from families with a high income (–3.2 points), girls (–3.1 points), Swiss citizens (–3.1 points) and children from the German-speaking part of Switzerland (–3.1 points). HRQoL was particularly low during periods with restrictions and at the height of the COVID-19 waves in 2020.

CONCLUSION: The SOPHYA-study showed that HRQoL, and especially emotional well-being, was lower in 5 to 11-year-old children in Switzerland during the first year of the pandemic compared to the results from the survey conducted in 2014/15. In the year of the pandemic, the scores were lowest at the height of the COVID-19 waves and their associated restrictions. As it cannot be distinguished whether fear of the disease itself or the restrictions caused this decrease in HRQoL, containment policies should keep COVID-19 infections as low as possible, but still enable children to profit from protective factors such as leisure activities, physical activity and social contact.

References

  1. Castagnoli R, Votto M, Licari A, Brambilla I, Bruno R, Perlini S, et al. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. JAMA Pediatr. 2020 Sep;174(9):882–9. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1467
  2. Green KH, van de Groep S, Sweijen SW, Becht AI, Buijzen M, de Leeuw RN, et al. Mood and emotional reactivity of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: short-term and long-term effects and the impact of social and socioeconomic stressors. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun;11(1):11563. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90851-x
  3. Orben A, Tomova L, Blakemore SJ. The effects of social deprivation on adolescent development and mental health. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020 Aug;4(8):634–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30186-3
  4. Ravens-Sieberer U, Kaman A, Erhart M, Devine J, Schlack R, Otto C. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life and mental health in children and adolescents in Germany. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Jan.
  5. United Nations. Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children. 15. April 2020.
  6. OECD. Combatting COVID-19's effect on children. 2020.
  7. UNICEF. UNICEF (2020) COVID-19: children at heightened risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence amidst intensifying containment measures. 2020 [Available from: https://www.unicef.org/guineabissau/press-releases/covid-19-children-heightened-risk-abuse-neglect-exploitation-and-violence-amidst
  8. Nearchou F, Flinn C, Niland R, Subramaniam SS, Hennessy E. Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov;17(22):E8479. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228479
  9. Fancourt D, Steptoe A, Bu F. Trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms during enforced isolation due to COVID-19 in England: a longitudinal observational study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2021 Feb;8(2):141–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30482-X
  10. Orgilés M, Morales A, Delvecchio E, Mazzeschi C, Espada JP. Immediate Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Quarantine in Youth From Italy and Spain. Front Psychol. 2020 Nov;11:579038. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.579038
  11. Jiao WY, Wang LN, Liu J, Fang SF, Jiao FY, Pettoello-Mantovani M, et al. Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Children during the COVID-19 Epidemic. J Pediatr. 2020 Jun;221:264–266.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.03.013
  12. Saurabh K, Ranjan S. Compliance and Psychological Impact of Quarantine in Children and Adolescents due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Indian J Pediatr. 2020 Jul;87(7):532–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-020-03347-3
  13. Uccella S, De Grandis E, De Carli F, D’Apruzzo M, Siri L, Preiti D, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents. Front Public Health. 2021 Feb;9:608358. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.608358
  14. Adıbelli D, Sümen A. The effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on health-related quality of life in children. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2020 Dec;119:105595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105595
  15. de Quervain D, Aerni A, Amin E, Bentz D, Coynel D, Gerhards C, et al. The Swiss Corona Stress Study: second pandemic wave, November 2020 Basel: OSFPreprints; 2020 [Available from: https://osf.io/jqw6a/
  16. Ravens-Sieberer U, Kaman A, Otto C, Adedeji A, Napp AK, Becker M, et al. [Mental health and psychological burden of children and adolescents during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic-results of the COPSY study]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2021.
  17. Kwong AS, López-López JA, Hammerton G, Manley D, Timpson NJ, Leckie G, et al. Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors Associated With Trajectories of Depression Symptoms From Adolescence to Young Adulthood. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Jun;2(6):e196587. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.6587
  18. Campion J, Javed A, Sartorius N, Marmot M. Addressing the public mental health challenge of COVID-19. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 Aug;7(8):657–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30240-6
  19. Mazza C, Ricci E, Biondi S, Colasanti M, Ferracuti S, Napoli C, et al. A Nationwide Survey of Psychological Distress among Italian People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May;17(9):E3165. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093165
  20. Gassman-Pines A, Ananat EO, Fitz-Henley J 2nd. COVID-19 and Parent-Child Psychological Well-being. Pediatrics. 2020 Oct;146(4):e2020007294. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-007294
  21. Patrick SW, Henkhaus LE, Zickafoose JS, Lovell K, Halvorson A, Loch S, et al. Well-being of Parents and Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey. Pediatrics. 2020 Oct;146(4):e2020016824. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-016824
  22. Lannen P, Sticca F, Simoni H. Kleinkinder und ihre Eltern während der Covid-19 Pande-mie2020 28.04,2021.
  23. Bringolf-Isler B, Schindler C, de Hoogh K, Kayser B, Suggs LS, Dössegger A, et al.; SOPHYA Study Group. Association of objectively measured and perceived environment with accelerometer-based physical activity and cycling: a Swiss population-based cross-sectional study of children. Int J Public Health. 2019 May;64(4):499–510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-019-01206-3
  24. Ravens-Sieberer U, Ellert U, Erhart M. Gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität von Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland. Eine Normstichprobe für Deutschland aus dem Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurvey (KIGGS). Bundesgesundheitsbl - Gesundheitsforsch -Gesundheitsschutz. 2007;50:810-8.
  25. Ravens-Sieberer U, Bullinger M. KINDL-R Questionnaires, Language versions: https://www.kindl.org/english/language-versions/ 1998 [
  26. Ravens-Sieberer U, Bullinger M. KINDL-R, Fragebogen zur Erfassung der gesundheitsbezogenen Lebensqualität bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Revidierte Form. Manual.; 2000.
  27. Bundeamt für Statistik. Raum mit städtischem Charakter der Schweiz 2012. Eine neue Definition der Agglomerationen und weiteren stadtischen Raumkategorien.; 2014.
  28. Bundesamt für Statistik. Räumliche Gliederung. https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/grundlagen/raumgliederungen.html [
  29. Bullinger M, Brütt AL, Erhart M, Ravens-Sieberer U, Group BS ; BELLA Study Group. Psychometric properties of the KINDL-R questionnaire: results of the BELLA study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2008 Dec;17(S1 Suppl 1):125–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-1014-z
  30. Nobari H, Fashi M, Eskandari A, Villafaina S, Murillo-Garcia Á, Pérez-Gómez J. Effect of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents and Children: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr;18(9):4563. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094563
  31. Chtourou H, Trabelsi K, H’mida C, Boukhris O, Glenn JM, Brach M, et al. Staying Physically Active During the Quarantine and Self-Isolation Period for Controlling and Mitigating the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Overview of the Literature. Front Psychol. 2020 Aug;11:1708. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01708 Edifix has not found an issue number in the journal reference. Please check the volume/issue information. (Ref. 31 "Chtourou, Trabelsi, 2020")
  32. Jiménez-Pavón D, Carbonell-Baeza A, Lavie CJ. Physical exercise as therapy to fight against the mental and physical consequences of COVID-19 quarantine: special focus in older people. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2020 May - Jun;63(3):386–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2020.03.009
  33. Bringolf-Isler B, Mäder U, Dössegger A, Hofmann H, Puder JJ, Braun-Fahrländer C, et al. Regional differences of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Swiss children are not explained by socio-demographics or the built environment. Int J Public Health. 2015 Mar;60(3):291–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-014-0645-8
  34. Bringolf-Isler B, Grize L, Mäder U, Ruch N, Sennhauser FH, Braun-Fahrländer C ; SCARPOL team. Built environment, parents’ perception, and children’s vigorous outdoor play. Prev Med. 2010 May-Jun;50(5-6):251–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.03.008