The Deconditioning Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unaffected Healthy Children.
Pediatr Cardiol
; 42(3): 554-559, 2021 Mar.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1006342
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating direct consequences on the health of affected patients. It has also had a significant impact on the ability of unaffected children to be physically active. We evaluated the effect of deconditioning from social distancing and school shutdowns implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the cardiovascular fitness of healthy unaffected children. This is a single-center, retrospective case-control study performed in an urban tertiary referral center. A cohort of 10 healthy children that underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing after COVID-19 hospital restrictions were lifted was compared to a matched cohort before COVID-19-related shutdowns on school and after-school activities. Comparisons of oxygen uptake (VO2) max and VO2 at anaerobic threshold between the pre- and post-COVID-19 cohorts were done. The VO2 max in the post-COVID cohort was significantly lower than in the pre-COVID cohort (39.1 vs. 44.7, p = 0.031). Only one out of ten patients had a higher VO2 max when compared to their matched pre-COVID control and was also the only patient with a documented history of participation in varsity-type athletics. The percentile of predicted VO2 was significantly lower in the post-COVID cohort (95% vs. 105%, p = 0.042). This study for the first time documented a significant measurable decline in physical fitness of healthy children as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions. Measures need to be identified that encourage and facilitate regular exercise in children in a way that are not solely dependent on school and organized after-school activities.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Oxygen Consumption
/
Schools
/
Exercise
/
Health Status
/
Physical Fitness
/
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Pediatr Cardiol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S00246-020-02513-w
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