IADR Abstract Archives
The Impact of COVID-19 Infection Adolescents’ Mental Health and Quality of Life in Brazil
Objectives: To evaluate the relationship of COVID-19 infection with mental health and quality of life of adolescents.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out with adolescents aged 15 and 16 in Bauru, Brazil. Data was collected using self-completed online questionnaires through Google forms. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) to evaluate the presence of affective and cognitive symptoms of depression during the past 2 weeks. Quality of life was measured by the PedsQL™ Pediatric Questionnaire, which is composed of 4 dimensions: physical functioning (8 items), functioning emotional (5 items), social functioning (5 items) and school functioning (5 items). The questions in this scale ask about your feelings and thoughts during the last month, being scored 0 (never a problem) to 4 (almost always problem). To assess the effects of the pandemic on adolescents, a self-evaluative questionnaire was used. Questions are based on the areas of education and learning; economy, health (BMI); context and expectations. After descriptive analysis, comparisons between variables were performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (P<0.05).
Results: Participants were 258 teenagers. Of these, 72.9% were female adolescents. The adolescents' BMI ranged from 18.2 to 25.4kg/m2. Adolescents who were infected by SARS-CoV-2 had a higher BMI when compared to those who did not have the disease (P= 0.008). In families that had a decrease in income, adolescents showed more depressive symptoms. Adolescents who declared themselves optimistic about the future after the pandemic had fewer depressive symptoms (P<0.05). Males had a better quality of life when compared to females. The presence of depressive symptoms was inversely related to better quality of life (P<0.001).
Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic does not seem to have impacted on quality of life, but it has affected the adolescents’ mental health, related to the family's socioeconomic conditions and the future after the pandemic. Adolescents with higher BMI had worse symptoms of depression.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out with adolescents aged 15 and 16 in Bauru, Brazil. Data was collected using self-completed online questionnaires through Google forms. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) to evaluate the presence of affective and cognitive symptoms of depression during the past 2 weeks. Quality of life was measured by the PedsQL™ Pediatric Questionnaire, which is composed of 4 dimensions: physical functioning (8 items), functioning emotional (5 items), social functioning (5 items) and school functioning (5 items). The questions in this scale ask about your feelings and thoughts during the last month, being scored 0 (never a problem) to 4 (almost always problem). To assess the effects of the pandemic on adolescents, a self-evaluative questionnaire was used. Questions are based on the areas of education and learning; economy, health (BMI); context and expectations. After descriptive analysis, comparisons between variables were performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (P<0.05).
Results: Participants were 258 teenagers. Of these, 72.9% were female adolescents. The adolescents' BMI ranged from 18.2 to 25.4kg/m2. Adolescents who were infected by SARS-CoV-2 had a higher BMI when compared to those who did not have the disease (P= 0.008). In families that had a decrease in income, adolescents showed more depressive symptoms. Adolescents who declared themselves optimistic about the future after the pandemic had fewer depressive symptoms (P<0.05). Males had a better quality of life when compared to females. The presence of depressive symptoms was inversely related to better quality of life (P<0.001).
Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic does not seem to have impacted on quality of life, but it has affected the adolescents’ mental health, related to the family's socioeconomic conditions and the future after the pandemic. Adolescents with higher BMI had worse symptoms of depression.