Marfoli Angelica, Speziale Giulia, Del Prete-Ferrucci Gaia, Cole Harlan, De Sandi Angelica, Mellace Denise, Chieffo Daniela, Barbieri Sergio, Priori Alberto, Dell'Osso Bernardo, Pravettoni Gabriella, Ferrucci Roberta
Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy.
University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
J Clin Med. 2024 Aug 14;13(16):4768. doi: 10.3390/jcm13164768.
: The rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the psychological well-being of millions of people around the world, and even more so among children. Contracting SARS-CoV-2, resulting in home confinement and restrictions on daily and school activities, led to negative effects on the mental health of the paediatric population. Although children suffering from COVID-19 had milder general symptoms compared to adults, impairments in cognitive, neuropsychological, and emotional-behavioural development were noted. : The main aim of the present study was to detect possible changes in the neuropsychological and emotional-behavioural development of children after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The second aim was to investigate possible relationships between cognitive abilities and psychosocial characteristics. : A total of 40 patients aged 8-9 years were recruited and divided into two groups: children who contracted (CG) and did not contract (NCG) SARS-CoV-2. The BVN 5-11 (Neuropsychological evaluation battery for developmental age from 5 to 11 years) instrument was administered to assess attention, memory, verbal recall, planning, phonemics, and categorical fluency domains in the paediatric population. Data on changes in emotional-behavioural profile and daily activities were collected through a questionnaire to parents. : The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a significant change in mood after the COVID-19 period only in the CG participants ( = 0.019). However, the neuropsychological performance of the two identified groups on BVN 5-11 sub-items was below the cutoff of clinical significance. Correlations were found between sub-items of the BVN 5-11 battery, extracurricular activities, and children's psycho-motor development. Significant positive correlations were observed between Naming on visual presentation and Reading time ( = 0.006), backward digit span and time of motor activity ( = 0.009), Visual attention and Reading time ( = 0.048), and Phonemic fluency and time observed using devices ( = 0.030). Positive statistically significant correlations were also found between Mood and Free behaviour ( = 0.000), between Mood and Structured behaviour ( = 0.005), and between Mood and peer Interaction ( = 0.013). : SARS-CoV-2 infection negatively affected the emotional development of children contracting the virus. The neuropsychological functioning of the paediatric population was influenced by psychosocial variables and time spent on daily activities, which played a protective role in children's cognitive development.
新冠疫情的迅速蔓延对全球数百万人的心理健康产生了重大影响，对儿童的影响更是如此。感染严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2），导致居家隔离以及日常和学校活动受限，对儿童群体的心理健康产生了负面影响。尽管与成年人相比，感染新冠病毒的儿童一般症状较轻，但仍发现其认知、神经心理和情绪行为发展存在障碍。本研究的主要目的是检测感染SARS-CoV-2病毒后儿童神经心理和情绪行为发展的可能变化。第二个目的是调查认知能力与心理社会特征之间的可能关系。共招募了40名8至9岁的患者，并将其分为两组：感染SARS-CoV-2的儿童（CG组）和未感染的儿童（NCG组）。使用BVN 5-11（5至11岁发育年龄神经心理评估量表）工具评估儿童群体的注意力、记忆力、言语回忆、计划能力、音素能力和分类流畅性等方面。通过向家长发放问卷收集情绪行为特征和日常活动变化的数据。威尔科克森符号秩检验显示，仅CG组参与者在新冠疫情期间情绪有显著变化（P = 0.019）。然而，在BVN 5-11子项目上，两组儿童的神经心理表现均低于临床意义的临界值。在BVN 5-11量表子项目、课外活动和儿童心理运动发展之间发现了相关性。在视觉呈现命名与阅读时间之间（P = 0.006）、倒背数字广度与运动活动时间之间（P = 0.009）、视觉注意力与阅读时间之间（P = 0.048）以及音素流畅性与使用设备观察时间之间（P = 0.030）观察到显著正相关。在情绪与自由行为之间（P = 0.000）、情绪与结构化行为之间（P = 0.005）以及情绪与同伴互动之间（P = 0.013）也发现了具有统计学意义的正相关。SARS-CoV-2感染对感染该病毒的儿童的情绪发展产生了负面影响。儿童群体的神经心理功能受到心理社会变量和日常活动时间的影响，日常活动时间对儿童的认知发展起到了保护作用。
