Quality of life and the psychological status of the adolescents with asthma and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background. The new coronavirus pandemic affected many people's both physical and mental health around the world, psychiatric problems and anxiety was common during the pandemic. We aim to evaluate the anxiety and quality of life (QoL) of children and their parents who were followed up with the diagnosis of asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic comparing with an age-matched control group. Methods. This study was conducted after the first lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic, namely the new normalization period. Demographic features were noted, all adolescents completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventories for Children (STAI-C) state and trait scales, and Pediatric QoL inventories (PedsQL). Parents also filled PedsQL parent version, STAI state and trait scales. Asthma control test (ACT) was completed only by the asthma group. Results. Totally 121 adolescents [61 asthma group (59% female); 60 control group (73.8% female)] were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 15.4 ± 1.69 years and their parents was 41.52 ± 6.04 years. In the asthma group 65.6% of the patients used asthma medications regularly and 73.8% of them continued asthma follow-up during the pandemic. There was no significant difference in terms of PedsQL from both the child's and parent's perspective, STAI-C and STAI scores between study groups. The QoL was associated with asthma severity, all of the PedsQL scores were significantly lower in the uncontrolled asthma group. Asthma severity was also correlated with anxiety, as the uncontrolled asthma group reached the highest STAI-C trait scores. Girls with asthma had significantly lower physical PedsQL and ACT scores than boys. Conclusions. Although the quality of life and anxiety scores of children with asthma did not differ from the control group, good asthma control in adolescents with asthma may improve QoL. Adolescence is a sensitive age group, and requires meticulous consideration by caregivers. The parents' awareness of anxiety and other psychological symptoms may help them to cope with the challenges during the pandemic.