Kim Jaewhan, Ewing Carson R, Larson Ashlee, Illapperuma-Wood Chathuri, Fischer Aaron, Duru Emeka Elvis, Kim Youngwoo, Wilson Fernando
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 8;20(9):e0331984. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0331984. eCollection 2025.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted mental health, limited information exists on the relationship between COVID-19 infection and mental health disorders in children and adolescents. This study explored the association between COVID-19 infection, infection severity, and the risk of depression and anxiety among school-aged youth. Data from the 2019-2021 Utah All Payers Claims Database (APCD) was used to identify children and adolescents (aged 6-15 years in 2019) covered by private insurance or Medicaid. Depression and anxiety diagnoses in 2021 were identified using diagnosis codes. Entropy balancing was applied to balance baseline differences between youth with and without a COVID-19 infection in 2020. Weighted logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with incidence of depression and anxiety. A total of 154,579 subjects were included, with an average age of 10.8 years (SD: 2.8); 48% were female. Youth with a COVID-19 infection had a 49% higher likelihood of having new depression or anxiety diagnoses in 2021 (OR = 1.49, p < 0.01). Compared to youth without COVID-19 infection, those with moderate symptoms had a 40% higher likelihood (OR = 1.40, p < 0.01), and those with severe symptoms had a 60% higher likelihood (OR = 1.60, p < 0.01) of developing depression or anxiety. This population-level study found that COVID-19 infection, especially severe cases, is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. These findings underscore the importance of targeted mental health interventions for youth impacted by the infection.
虽然新冠疫情对心理健康产生了重大影响，但关于新冠病毒感染与儿童和青少年心理健康障碍之间的关系，现有信息有限。本研究探讨了新冠病毒感染、感染严重程度与学龄青少年抑郁和焦虑风险之间的关联。利用2019 - 2021年犹他州全支付方索赔数据库（APCD）的数据，确定了由私人保险或医疗补助覆盖的儿童和青少年（2019年年龄在6 - 15岁）。通过诊断代码确定2021年的抑郁和焦虑诊断情况。采用熵平衡法来平衡2020年感染新冠病毒和未感染新冠病毒的青少年之间的基线差异。进行加权逻辑回归以确定与抑郁和焦虑发病率相关的因素。共纳入154,579名受试者，平均年龄为10.8岁（标准差：2.8）；48%为女性。感染新冠病毒的青少年在2021年出现新发抑郁或焦虑诊断的可能性高49%（比值比 = 1.49，p < 0.01）。与未感染新冠病毒的青少年相比，有中度症状的青少年出现抑郁或焦虑的可能性高40%（比值比 = 1.40，p < 0.01），有重度症状的青少年出现抑郁或焦虑的可能性高60%（比值比 = 1.60，p < 0.01）。这项基于人群水平的研究发现，新冠病毒感染，尤其是重症病例，与儿童和青少年抑郁和焦虑风险增加有关。这些发现强调了针对受感染影响的青少年进行有针对性的心理健康干预的重要性。
