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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child growth and development: a systematic review
Liubiana Arantes de Araújo1, Cássio Frederico Veloso2, Matheus de Campos Souza3
1Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Pediatria, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Insights
Epidemics and social restrictions negatively impact parental and child mental health, increasing risks for developmental delays and long-term health issues. Understanding these impacts is crucial for developing supportive family strategies.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Developmental Psychology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Pandemics and social restrictions pose significant threats to child development.
- Mitigation strategies like school closures can induce parental and child stress.
- This stress is a risk factor for compromised child development and Sustainable Development Goals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review studies on the mental and developmental health impacts of epidemics on parents and children.
- To synthesize evidence on the consequences of epidemic-related adversity for families.
- To inform policy development for supporting families during health crises.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of scientific literature.
- Searched PubMed, WHO COVID-19, and SciELO databases.
- Filtered studies for human subjects aged 0-18 years.
Main Results:
- Epidemics increase parental stress due to infection concerns.
- Children and adolescents experience anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.
- Adverse childhood experiences are linked to toxic stress and developmental delays.
- Long-term risks include cognitive impairment, substance abuse, and non-communicable diseases.
Conclusions:
- Epidemic-related stressors significantly affect the mental and developmental health of children and parents.
- Findings highlight the need for targeted interventions and policy support for families.
- Addressing these impacts is vital for ensuring healthy child development and achieving global health goals.
Objective:
This was a systematic review of studies that examined the impact of epidemics or social restriction on mental and developmental health in parents and children/adolescents.
Source Of Data:
The PubMed, WHO COVID-19, and SciELO databases were searched on March 15, 2020, and on April 25, 2020, filtering for children (0-18 years) and humans.
Synthesis Of Data:
The tools used to mitigate the threat of a pandemic such as COVID-19 may very well threaten child growth and development. These tools - such as social restrictions, shutdowns, and school closures - contribute to stress in parents and children and can become risk factors that threaten child growth and development and may compromise the Sustainable Development Goals. The studies reviewed suggest that epidemics can lead to high levels of stress in parents and children, which begin with concerns about children becoming infected. These studies describe several potential mental and emotional consequences of epidemics such as COVID-19, H1N1, AIDS, and Ebola: severe anxiety or depression among parents and acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress, anxiety disorders, and depression among children. These data can be related to adverse childhood experiences and elevated risk of toxic stress. The more adverse experiences, the greater the risk of developmental delays and health problems in adulthood, such as cognitive impairment, substance abuse, depression, and non-communicable diseases.
Conclusion:
Information about the impact of epidemics on parents and children is relevant to policy makers to aid them in developing strategies to help families cope with epidemic/pandemic-driven adversity and ensure their children's healthy development.
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