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The Deconditioning Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Unaffected Healthy Children.
Dayton, Jeffrey D; Ford, Kelley; Carroll, Sheila J; Flynn, Patrick A; Kourtidou, Soultana; Holzer, Ralf J.
  • Dayton JD; Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 525 East 68th Street, Room F-677, New York, NY 10065, USA.
  • Ford K; New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA.
  • Carroll SJ; Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 525 East 68th Street, Room F-677, New York, NY 10065, USA.
  • Flynn PA; New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA.
  • Kourtidou S; Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 525 East 68th Street, Room F-677, New York, NY 10065, USA.
  • Holzer RJ; New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA.
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.
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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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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