Evaluation of Psychiatric Symptoms in 2-5 Years Old Children Who Are Followed and Treated with the Diagnosis of Wheezing during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Levels of Mothers

Abstract

Objective: The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of children and adults is a candidate to be one of the most current issues in healthcare in the near future. This study aimed to determine the clinical course of patients diagnosed with wheezing, to make emotional, behavioral, social, and psychiatric evaluations, and to investigate the possible effect of the pandemic on disease follow-up and treatment by evaluating the psychiatric conditions of their mothers. Material and Methods: The study included 58 patients diagnosed with a wheezy infant aged 2-5 years. Data regarding the sociodemographic characteristics and wheezing history of the patients were recorded. ‘Test for Respiratory and Asthma Control in Kids (TRACK)’ was applied to evaluate their current clinical condition. For psychiatric evaluation, the ‘Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ)’ was applied to the patients, and the ‘Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS 21)’ and ‘The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)’ were administered to their mothers. Results: In our study, it was observed that our patients experienced emotional, behavioral, peer, and social problems at varying rates (17-43%) during the pandemic period. It was especially noteworthy that emotional problems were seen more frequently in girls. It has been shown that there is a positive relationship between depression scores in mothers and SDQ Total Scores of their children. On the other hand, it was observed that current disease control status, hospitalization history, and whether or not being symptomatic during the pandemic period did not contribute to mental impairment in mothers. Conclusion: The detection of high overall difficulty scores in children of mothers with high depression scores indicates that there is a need to evaluate maternal and child mental health together. Psychological influence is multifactorial and varies between societies. There is a need for studies on a larger scale that take familial and individual variables into account.