Effect of COVID19 preventive measures on respiratory infections and symptoms in children

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Little is known on the effect of COVID19 preventive measures on respiratory symptoms in children. We studied the effect of these measures on respiratory symptoms in children previously followed by paediatric pulmonologists. <b>Methods:</b> The Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort is a prospective cohort of children aged 0-16 years seen&nbsp;by paediatric pulmonologists in Switzerland. Parents completed a monthly questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and treatment for 1 year. We compared the questionnaires completed&nbsp;in October 2019-February 2020 (preCOVID-winter), March-April 2020 (lockdown with school closures) and October 2020-February 2021 (COVID-winter). We used logistic regression to study the association between the period and respiratory infections, symptoms and treatment use. Results were adjusted for sex, age and previous severity of respiratory symptoms. <b>Results:</b> Among the 392 questionnaires (204 children, mean age 9 years, 48% female), 83 were completed during preCOVID-winter, 91 in lockdown and 218 in COVID-winter. Compared to preCOVID-winter, questionnaires completed in lockdown and COVID-winter were less likely to report on respiratory infections (aOR 0.12, 95%CI 0.05-0.31; aOR 0.22, 0.10-0.46), cough (aOR 0.31, 0.14-0.67; aOR 0.17, 0.08-0.36), dyspnoea (aOR 0.30, 0.10-0.96; aOR 0.34, 0.11-1.1), wheeze (aOR 0.15, 0.05-0.47; aOR 0.30, 0.12-0.71), treatment for respiratory problems (aOR 0.22, 0.06-0.85; aOR 0.06, 0.01-0.30), and asthma control-drugs use (aOR 0.65, 0.23-1.8; aOR 0.14, 0.04-0.49). <b>Conclusion:</b> Children in this clinical cohort had less respiratory infections and symptoms during the COVID19 pandemic compared&nbsp;to a previous similar period, probably due to preventive measures.