Investigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Body Mass Index, and Health Status in an Inner-City, Low-Income Setting.
Martha D Hawkins
PMID 36243619WHAT IT FOUND
Children in a low-income pediatric practice had higher BMI after pandemic stay-at-home orders.
Obesity rates rose, and airway problems were common.
Key findings
01BMI values were higher after the pandemic than before, with mean BMI 22.76 after and 20.4 before among 66 children with complete data.
02Among 101 charts, 21.7% had overweight BMI and 35.6% had obesity BMI, higher than the state rate of 23.8% and national rate of 20.7%.
03Airway conditions were the most common documented obesity-associated comorbidities, present in 16.7% of overweight children with comorbid conditions and 42.9% of obese children with comorbid conditions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 66 of 101 charts had complete data for BMI change, so the BMI trend is based on a subset. The study was done in one urban, low-income pediatric practice, so it may not apply to other settings. Paper records were hand searched, and missing or incomplete records could affect results. The design cannot show that the pandemic caused the BMI rise; it only compares records before and after. The study did not compare comorbidities before and after the pandemic. The illness visit difference was not statistically significant and was based on 2019 data. The paper gives inconsistent statements about hypertension: it says no records identified hypertension, then reports one child with hypertension.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the pandemic caused the BMI rise. This was a retrospective chart review, and the authors state that direct correlations cannot be drawn.