Effects of learning and lifestyle behaviors during home confinement on depressive and anxiety symptoms among primary school students / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To examine the changes of depressive and anxiety symptoms in school aged children during home confinement and to identify possible influence of learning and lifestyle behaviors on mental health changes.@*Methods@#The population of this study were obtained from the "Tongji Mental Health Cohort". Two primary schools in Wuhan were selected through cluster sampling and students in grade 2-5 were surveyed. This study was divided into two stages. In the first stage (T1=during home learning), a total of 2 588 valid questionnaires were collected. In the second phase (T2=during school learning), 2 424 children were followed up successfully. Combining the results of the depression and anxiety symptoms of the two surveys of children respectively to classify the children s psychological outcomes. Association between home learning and lifestyle behaviors with the change of psychological symptoms in school aged children were estimated by disordered multi classification Logistic regression.@*Results@#The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms were 28.9% and 21.0% in school aged children at T1, 35.6% and 30.6% at T2, respectively. The aggravation and persistence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children were partly related to their home learning and lifestyle behaviors. Concentration in class（ OR=0.63，95%CI =0.45-0.89）, frequent interaction with teachers ( OR =0.74, 95% CI = 0.57- 0.95 ), participation in physical exercise at home ( OR =0.60, 95% CI =0.41-0.87) was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in children. Time spent on playing video games ( OR =1.15, 95% CI =1.06-1.24) and fear of infection with coronavirus disease 2019 ( OR =1.83, 95% CI =1.39-2.42) were positively associated with anxiety in children. Boys（ OR=0.70， 0.63 ） were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety symptoms than girls.@*Conclusion@#The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among school aged children increased when they went back to school after home confinement, suggesting more attention are needed for mental health intervention among school aged children.