Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings
In Melbourne, Australia, strict ‘lockdowns’ were implemented in 2020 to suppress COVID-19, significantly disrupting daily life. Young people (<18 years) with medical conditions have an elevated risk of mental health problems and may have been disproportionately affected by the distress associated...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | COVID |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/1/10 |
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| author | Louise M. Crowe Cathriona Clarke Dan Geraghty Ben Collins Stephen Hearps Remy Pugh Nicola Kilpatrick Emma Branson Jonathan M. Payne Kristina Haebich Natalie McCloughan Christopher Kintakas Genevieve Charles Misel Trajanovska Ivy Hsieh Penelope L. Hartmann Sebastian King Nicholas Anderson Vicki Anderson |
| author_facet | Louise M. Crowe Cathriona Clarke Dan Geraghty Ben Collins Stephen Hearps Remy Pugh Nicola Kilpatrick Emma Branson Jonathan M. Payne Kristina Haebich Natalie McCloughan Christopher Kintakas Genevieve Charles Misel Trajanovska Ivy Hsieh Penelope L. Hartmann Sebastian King Nicholas Anderson Vicki Anderson |
| author_sort | Louise M. Crowe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Melbourne, Australia, strict ‘lockdowns’ were implemented in 2020 to suppress COVID-19, significantly disrupting daily life. Young people (<18 years) with medical conditions have an elevated risk of mental health problems and may have been disproportionately affected by the distress associated with the COVID-19 restrictions. To investigate this, we conducted a single-site, longitudinal cohort study involving the parents of 135 children and adolescents with medical conditions. Using an adapted version of the CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS), parents rated their child’s mental health, activities and healthcare experiences pre-COVID-19 (retrospectively), during lockdown and 6 months post-lockdown. General linear mixed models revealed that mental health symptoms, including anxiety, fatigue, distractibility, sadness, irritability, loneliness and worry, were higher during lockdown compared to pre-COVID-19. Notably, anxiety, sadness and loneliness remained elevated 6 months post-lockdown. Covariates such as older child age, increased parent stress and child screen time contributed to greater mental health difficulties. While most mental health symptoms resolved post-lockdown, the persistence of anxiety, sadness and loneliness highlights the need for ongoing clinical monitoring for young people with medical conditions during periods of community stress and restrictions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1c8a7e3cb3114a629f19bccf32959ddd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-8112 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | COVID |
| spelling | doaj-art-1c8a7e3cb3114a629f19bccf32959ddd2025-01-24T13:27:57ZengMDPI AGCOVID2673-81122025-01-01511010.3390/covid5010010Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal FindingsLouise M. Crowe0Cathriona Clarke1Dan Geraghty2Ben Collins3Stephen Hearps4Remy Pugh5Nicola Kilpatrick6Emma Branson7Jonathan M. Payne8Kristina Haebich9Natalie McCloughan10Christopher Kintakas11Genevieve Charles12Misel Trajanovska13Ivy Hsieh14Penelope L. Hartmann15Sebastian King16Nicholas Anderson17Vicki Anderson18Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaClinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, AustraliaIn Melbourne, Australia, strict ‘lockdowns’ were implemented in 2020 to suppress COVID-19, significantly disrupting daily life. Young people (<18 years) with medical conditions have an elevated risk of mental health problems and may have been disproportionately affected by the distress associated with the COVID-19 restrictions. To investigate this, we conducted a single-site, longitudinal cohort study involving the parents of 135 children and adolescents with medical conditions. Using an adapted version of the CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS), parents rated their child’s mental health, activities and healthcare experiences pre-COVID-19 (retrospectively), during lockdown and 6 months post-lockdown. General linear mixed models revealed that mental health symptoms, including anxiety, fatigue, distractibility, sadness, irritability, loneliness and worry, were higher during lockdown compared to pre-COVID-19. Notably, anxiety, sadness and loneliness remained elevated 6 months post-lockdown. Covariates such as older child age, increased parent stress and child screen time contributed to greater mental health difficulties. While most mental health symptoms resolved post-lockdown, the persistence of anxiety, sadness and loneliness highlights the need for ongoing clinical monitoring for young people with medical conditions during periods of community stress and restrictions.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/1/10COVID-19childrenadolescentmental healthmedical conditions |
| spellingShingle | Louise M. Crowe Cathriona Clarke Dan Geraghty Ben Collins Stephen Hearps Remy Pugh Nicola Kilpatrick Emma Branson Jonathan M. Payne Kristina Haebich Natalie McCloughan Christopher Kintakas Genevieve Charles Misel Trajanovska Ivy Hsieh Penelope L. Hartmann Sebastian King Nicholas Anderson Vicki Anderson Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings COVID COVID-19 children adolescent mental health medical conditions |
| title | Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings |
| title_full | Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings |
| title_fullStr | Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings |
| title_short | Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings |
| title_sort | mental health impacts of the covid 19 pandemic on australian children and adolescents with a medical condition longitudinal findings |
| topic | COVID-19 children adolescent mental health medical conditions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8112/5/1/10 |
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