RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether health-related physical fitness and body mass index (BMI) status differed before and after school closure from the COVID-19 pandemic in a population-based cohort of Hong Kong primary schoolchildren. STUDY DESIGN: We examined the BMI z score, BMI status, and physical fitness z scores including (i) upper limb muscle strength, (ii) 1-minute sit-up test, (iii) sit-and-reach test, and (iv) endurance run tests, among 3 epochs: prepandemic (September 2018-August 2019), before school closure (September 2019-January 2020), and partial school reopening (September 2021-August 2022), using a repeated cross-sectional approach. RESULTS: A total of 137â752 primary schoolchildren aged 6-12 years were recruited over 3 academic years. Obesity increased significantly from 25.9% in 2018/19 to 31.0% in 2021/22, while underweight increased slightly from 6.1% to 6.5%. All tested parameters were adversely affected by the pandemic. The negative trend over time was far more pronounced in all 4 physical fitness scores in the underweight group, although performance in handgrip strength had no significance between 2018/19 and 2021/22. CONCLUSIONS: Schoolchildren who are both underweight and overweight/obese are vulnerable to adverse changes in physical fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic. To eliminate the negative health and fitness outcomes, it is urgent to develop strategies for assisting schoolchildren in achieving a healthy weight, especially in the postpandemic era.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Pandemias , Humanos , Criança , Índice de Massa Corporal , Magreza/epidemiologia , Hong Kong/epidemiologia , Força da Mão , COVID-19/epidemiologia , Aptidão Física/fisiologia , Sobrepeso/epidemiologia , Obesidade , Instituições AcadêmicasRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To describe the mortality patterns, comorbidities, and attendance at accident and emergency departments among children with Down syndrome in Hong Kong. STUDY DESIGN: This is a population-based, retrospective cohort study of live births of children with Down syndrome delivered between 1995 and 2014, as identified from territory-wide hospitalization data in Hong Kong. The Kaplan-Meier product limit method was adopted to estimate the survival probabilities of children with Down syndrome by selected demographic and clinical characteristics. Cox regression analyses were conducted to examine associations of comorbidities and accident and emergency department accident and emergency departments attendances with mortality patterns. RESULTS: There were 1010 live births of children with Down syndrome in Hong Kong within the study period and the average rate of live births with Down syndrome was 8.0 per 10â000 live births (95% CI, 6.8-9.30). The rate of live births with Down syndrome over the past 2 decades decreased from 11.8 per 10â000 live births in 1995 to 3.4 per 10â000 in 2014. Eighty-three patients with Down syndrome died during this period. The overall 6-month and 1- and 5-year survival probabilities were 95.8%, 94.4%, and 92.6%, respectively. There was a significant decrease in mortality rates over the study period, particularly among those born between 2000-2004 and 2005-2009 compared with those born between 1995 and 1999 (P < .05). Patients with Down syndrome without congenital cardiovascular anomalies and without low birth weight had lower mortality rates than those with these diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past 2 decades, the early life mortality of children with Down syndrome in Hong Kong has improved significantly along with a reduction in Down syndrome live births.