Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab.  2022 Mar;27(1):52-59. 10.6065/apem.2142082.041.

Does coronavirus disease 2019 affect body mass index of children and adolescents who visited a growth clinic in South Korea?: a single-center study

• Roh SM
• Eun BW
• Seo JY

• KMID: 2528198
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.6065/apem.2142082.041

Abstract

Purpose
This study investigated the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on body mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents.
Methods
From May to July 2020, the obesity rate of children and adolescents was compared retrospectively to the corresponding rate in the same period in 2019. The change in height, weight, and BMI of the girls who received a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) for precocious puberty (n=53) and the controls (n=31) who visited a growth clinic for early breast budding but were not treated with GnRHa in the first half of 2020 were compared to the corresponding change in the first half of 2019 using a paired t-test.
Results
The rate of overweight or obesity in new outpatients (n=113, 83 girls, 30 boys) who visited growth clinics from May to July 2019 was 25.3% for girls and 23.3% for boys. The corresponding rate for the same period in 2020 (n=201, 153 girls, 48 boys) was 31.4% for girls and 45.8% for boys. There was a significant increase in the rate of overweight or obesity. The BMI of the GnRHa treatment group increased significantly from May to July 2019 than during the same period in 2020 (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in BMI between those periods in the control group.
Conclusion
During the social distancing period, the incidence of obesity was higher in boys than in girls. The obesity rate in girls who visited the growth clinic for early breast budding during routine follow-ups did not increase.

Keyword

Body mass index; COVID-19; Physical distancing; Exercise; Child; Adolescent

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Flow chart of the cases who first visited Nowon Eulji growth clinic.

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  Fig. 2. Flow chart of the cases who enrolled in the gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist treatment group and the control group. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019.

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  Fig. 3. Obesity rate of new outpatients in 2019 and 2020. BMI, body mass index; SDS, standard deviation score.

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  Fig. 4. Body mass index (BMI) distribution of patients in the gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment group in 2019 and 2020.

Reference

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