Correale Cinzia, Falamesca Chiara, Tondo Ilaria, Borgi Marta, Cirulli Francesca, Truglio Mauro, Papa Oriana, Vagnoli Laura, Arzilli Cinzia, Venturino Cristina, Pellegrini Michele, Manfredi Valentina, Sterpone Rossella, Grimaldi Capitello Teresa, Gentile Simonetta, Cappelletti Simona
Clinical Psychology Unit, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, 00146 Rome, Italy.
Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2022 Aug 2;9(8):1156. doi: 10.3390/children9081156.
COVID-19 is continuing to spread around the world, having a direct impact on people's daily lives and health. Although the knowledge of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population is now well established, there is less information on its effect on specific and vulnerable populations, such as children with chronic illness (CI). We conducted a multi-centered cross-sectional study among pediatric patients in six public children's hospitals in Italy during the first lockdown, with the aim of assessing the proportion of children with CI presenting anxiety and depressive symptoms, and the clinical and demographic characteristics affecting such symptomatology. We included children with at least one chronic condition, with no cognitive delay, aged between 11 and 18 years. Brief standardized questionnaires were administered during medical scheduled visits to screen anxiety and depressive symptoms. We found a very high proportion of children showing mild to severe depressive and anxiety symptomatology (approximately 68% and 63%, respectively). Our results highlight the need of ensuring tailored psychological interventions to protect children with CI from the effect of the pandemic (and related restrictive measures such as quarantine and social distancing), with the final aim of promoting mental health and psychological well-being in this vulnerable population.
新冠病毒病（COVID-19）正在全球持续传播，对人们的日常生活和健康产生直接影响。尽管新冠疫情对普通人群心理健康的影响已广为人知，但关于其对特定弱势群体（如慢性病患儿）影响的信息较少。我们在意大利首次封锁期间，对六家公立儿童医院的儿科患者进行了一项多中心横断面研究，目的是评估患有慢性病的儿童出现焦虑和抑郁症状的比例，以及影响这些症状的临床和人口统计学特征。我们纳入了至少患有一种慢性病、无认知延迟、年龄在11至18岁之间的儿童。在定期医疗就诊期间发放简短的标准化问卷，以筛查焦虑和抑郁症状。我们发现，有很高比例的儿童表现出轻度至重度的抑郁和焦虑症状（分别约为68%和63%）。我们的研究结果凸显了确保提供量身定制的心理干预措施的必要性，以保护患有慢性病的儿童免受疫情（以及诸如隔离和社交距离等相关限制措施）的影响，最终目的是促进这一弱势群体的心理健康和幸福感。
