Determinants of adolescents' Health-Related Quality of Life and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic

Roxane Dumont; Viviane Richard; Hélène Baysson; Elsa Lorthe; Giovanni Piumatti; Stephanie Schrempft; Ania Wisniak; Rémy P Barbe; Klara M Posfay-Barbe; Idris Guessous; Silvia Stringhini; Specchio-COVID19 study group

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0272925

Determinants of adolescents' Health-Related Quality of Life and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic

PLoS One. 2022 Aug 11;17(8):e0272925. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272925. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Roxane Dumont¹, Viviane Richard¹, Hélène Baysson^{1

2}, Elsa Lorthe¹, Giovanni Piumatti^{3

4}, Stephanie Schrempft¹, Ania Wisniak^{1

5}, Rémy P Barbe⁶, Klara M Posfay-Barbe⁷, Idris Guessous^{2

8}, Silvia Stringhini^{1

2

9}; Specchio-COVID19 study group

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
² Department of Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Institute of Public Health, Faculty of BioMedicine, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland.
⁴ Fondazione Agnelli, Turin, Italy.
⁵ Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁶ Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Woman, Child, and Adolescent Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁷ Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Woman, Child, and Adolescent Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁸ Division and Department of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁹ University Center for General Medicine and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: We examined the determinants of adolescents' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and psychological distress (self-reported and parent-reported) during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a random sample of the population of Geneva, Switzerland.

Methods: Data was drawn from participants aged 14-17 years, who participated with their families to a serosurvey conducted in November and December 2020. Adolescents' HRQoL was evaluated using the validated adolescent-reported KIDSCREEN-10 and parent-reported KINDL® scales. Psychological distress was assessed with self-reported sadness and loneliness, and using the KINDL® emotional well-being scale. Using generalized estimating equations, we examined the role of socio-demographic, family and behavioural characteristics in influencing adolescents' mental health status and wellbeing.

Results: Among 240 adolescents, 11% had a low HRQoL, 35% reported sadness and 23% reported loneliness. Based on parents' perception, 12% of the adolescents had a low HRQoL and 16% a low emotional well-being. Being a girl (aOR = 3.20; 95%CI: 1.67-6.16), increased time on social media (aOR = 2.07; 95%CI: 1.08-3.97), parents' average to poor mood (aOR = 2.62; 95%CI: 1.10-6.23) and average to poor household financial situation (aOR = 2.31; IC95%: 1.01-6.10) were associated with an increased risk of sadness. Mismatches between adolescents' and their parents' perception of HRQoL were more likely for girls (aOR = 2.88; 95%CI: 1.54-5.41) and in households with lower family well-being (aOR = 0.91; 95%CI: 0.86-0.96).

Conclusions: A meaningful proportion of adolescents experienced low well-being during the second wave of COVID-19, and average well-being was lower than pre-pandemic estimates. Adolescents living in underprivileged or distressed families seemed particularly affected. Monitoring is necessary to evaluate the long-term effects of the pandemic on adolescents.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Pandemics
Parents / psychology
Psychological Distress*
Quality of Life / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

The Specchio-COVID19 study was funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, the General Directorate of Health of the Department of Safety, Employment and Health of the canton of Geneva, the Private Foundation of the Geneva University Hospitals, the Swiss School of Public Health (Corona Immunitas Research Program) and the Grangettes Foundation. Funding sources are from private foundations whom do not provide grant/reference numbers. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.