Impacts of COVID-19 on children and adolescents: A systematic review analyzing its psychiatric effects.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the most relevant data from a systematic review on the impact of COVID-19 on children and adolescents, particularly analyzing its psychiatric effects. METHODS: This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and included experimental studies (randomized-individually or pooled-and non-randomized controlled trials), observational studies with a group for internal comparison (cohort studies-prospective and retrospective-and case-control) and qualitative studies in the period from 2021 to 2022. RESULTS: The search identified 325 articles; we removed 125 duplicates. We selected 200 manuscripts, chosen by title and selected abstracts. We excluded 50 records after screening titles and abstracts, as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. We retrieved 150 records selected for a full reading. We excluded 90 text articles and we selected 25 records for the (n) final. Limitations: Due to the short period of data collection, from 2021 to 2022, there is a possibility of lack of relevant studies related to the mental health care of children and adolescents. In addition, there is the possibility of publication bias, such as only significant findings being published. CONCLUSION: The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of children and adolescents is of great concern to child and youth psychiatry. Situations such as fear, anxiety, panic, depression, sleep and appetite disorders, as well as impairment in social interactions caused by psychic stress, are punctual markers of pain and psychic suffering, which have increasing impacts on the mental health panorama of children and adolescents globally, particularly in vulnerable and socially at-risk populations.

Deaths announced in Brazil - A dark sweetness: COVID-19 among children and adolescents.

While the Ministry of Health of Brazil postpones the inclusion of children aged 5-12 years in the National Immunization Plan against COVID-19, current evidence highlights that the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by COVID-19 in the pediatric population, of in general, including the group of children aged 5-11 years, it is not within acceptable levels. Unfortunately, child mortality and fatality rates in Brazil are among the highest in the world. In 2020, there were 1203 deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SRAG). In 2021, there were 2293. Also 65 deaths were reported from Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (P-SIM); an aggressive manifestation of the virus in children.

Cemetery, tombstones, tears and hidden silences: Suicide in children and adolescents.

Recent studies have reported a deterioration in children's mental health since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an increase in anxiety and mood disorders leading to significant suicidal ideation and suicide rates. Suicide is complex, and individual tragedies and circumstances can diverge. Evidence suggests that the mental health and well-being of some children and youth were substantially affected because of and during the pandemic. Those with pre-existing mental health problems that experienced the most negative impacts compared to pre-pandemic data.