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

Bringolf-Isler, Bettina; Hänggi, Johanna; Kayser, Bengt; Suggs, Suzanne L; Dössegger, Alain; Probst-Hensch, Nicole (2021). COVID-19 pandemic and health related quality of life in primary school children in Switzerland: a repeated cross-sectional study Swiss Medical Weekly, 151(45), w30071. EMH Schweizerischer Ärzteverlag 10.4414/smw.2021.w30071

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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.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Swiss Federal Institute of Sports Magglingen SFISM > EHSM - Lehre und Sportpädagogik > Evaluation
Name:	Bringolf-Isler, Bettina; Hänggi, Johanna; Kayser, Bengt; Suggs, Suzanne L; Dössegger, Alain; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Mahler, Nadja; Mäder, Urs; Wyss, Thomas; Poffet, Andrea; Guggenbühl, Lisa and Isler, Simone
ISSN:	1424-7860 (Print) 1424-3997 (Online)
Publisher:	EMH Schweizerischer Ärzteverlag
Language:	English
Submitter:	Service Account
Date Deposited:	20 Jun 2022 15:27
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2022 15:27
Publisher DOI:	10.4414/smw.2021.w30071
PubMed ID:	34797621
Uncontrolled Keywords:	COVID-19 Child Cohort Studies Cross-Sectional Studies SARS-CoV-2 Surveys and Questionnaires Switzerland
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.16829
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/16829