Background: Increased weight gain in children during the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported. Changes in weight in children with asthma during this period have not been well described. Methods: Retrospective review of children with asthma, 6-18 years of age, seen in 2019 and 2020. Mean monthly rates of change in body mass index (BMI) were compared between years. Demographic and asthma-related factors were examined. Results: Two hundred sixty-seven patients were enrolled. BMI increased by 0.128 ± 0.283 kg/m 2 /month during the pandemic year as compared with 0.084 ± 0.160 kg/m 2 /month during the previous year ( P = 0.03). Patients with baseline overweight or obesity trended toward higher rates of BMI increase than those starting with normal weight, with the greatest BMI increase occurring in the severely obese. Conclusions: In this single-site study of children with asthma, there was a greater monthly rate of BMI gain during the early pandemic as compared with that observed in the previous year.
Keyphrases
- weight gain
- body mass index
- birth weight
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- lung function
- weight loss
- young adults
- physical activity
- sars cov
- coronavirus disease
- adipose tissue
- type diabetes
- metabolic syndrome
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- air pollution
- end stage renal disease
- cystic fibrosis
- prognostic factors
- peritoneal dialysis
- body weight