Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2021 Apr;14(2):101021.
doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.101021. Epub 2020 Nov 5.

Brief report: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jeanette M Garcia  1 , Shawn Lawrence  2 , Keith Brazendale  3 , Nicholas Leahy  4 , David Fukuda  4
Affiliations
Observational Study

Brief report: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jeanette M Garcia et al. Disabil Health J. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Background: There is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively affect health behaviors in youth, especially youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to examine changes in physical activity, screen-time, and sleep in adolescents with ASD due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Nine adolescents with ASD completed surveys measuring physical activity, screen-time, and sleep duration prior to and during the pandemic.

Results: A significant decrease in days of physical activity (4.17 vs 2.27; p = 0.0006), and a significant increase in hours of both weekday (3.69 vs 6.25; p = 0.007) and weekend screen-time (5.94 vs. 7.39; p = 0.004) was observed during the pandemic. No changes regarding sleep duration was observed.

Conclusions: Although preliminary, results suggest that physical activity and screen-time may be negatively affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in youth with ASD. The development of interventions to promote health behaviors in ASD populations during long periods of less-structured time (quarantine) should be considered.

Keywords: Adolescents; Autism spectrum disorder; COVID-19; Physical activity; Screen-time.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . fifth ed. American Psychiatric Association; Arlington, VA: 2013. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
    1. Bremer E., Crozier M., Lloyd M. A systematic review of the behavioural outcomes following exercise interventions for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder. Autism. 2016;20(8):899–915. - PubMed
    1. Maenner M.J., Shaw K.A., Baio J., et al. Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years – autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2016. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep - Surveillance Summ. 2020;69(SS-4):1–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen P., Mao L., Nassie G.P., Harmer P., Ainsworth B.E., Li F. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): the need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2020;9(2):103–104. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Narzsi A. Handle the autism spectrum condition during Coronoavirus (COVID-19) stay at home period: ten tips for helping parents and caregivers of young children. Brain Sci. 2020;10:207. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types