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. 2021 Sep 16;17(1):93.
doi: 10.1186/s13223-021-00592-9.

Impact of imposed social isolation and use of face masks on asthma course and mental health in pediatric and adult patients with recurrent wheeze and asthma

Nicole Maison  1   2   3   4 , Heidrun Herbrüggen  5   6   7 , Bianca Schaub  8   9   5 , Christina Schauberger  8   9   5 , Svenja Foth  5   10   11 , Ruth Grychtol  5   12   13 , Mustafa Abdo  5   6   7 , Henrik Watz  5   7   14 , Wilfried Nikolaizik  5   10   11 , Klaus F Rabe  5   6   7 , Matthias V Kopp  5   7   15 , Gesine Hansen  5   12   13 , Erika von Mutius  8   9   5   16 , Thomas Bahmer #  5   6   7   17 , Jimmy Omony #  16 ; ALLIANCE study group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Impact of imposed social isolation and use of face masks on asthma course and mental health in pediatric and adult patients with recurrent wheeze and asthma

Nicole Maison et al. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. .

Abstract

Background: There is currently a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide, and further drastic restrictions in our daily life will be necessary to contain this pandemic. The implications of restrictive measures like social-distancing and mouth-nose protection on patients with chronic respiratory diseases have hardly been investigated.

Methods: Our survey, was conducted within the All Age Asthma Cohort (ALLIANCE), a multicenter longitudinal observational study. We assessed the effects of COVID-19 imposed social isolation and use of facial masks, on asthma course and mental health in patients with asthma and wheezing.

Results: We observed a high rate of problems associated with using facemasks and a significant reduction in the use of routine medical care. In addition to unsettling impacts, such as an increase in depression symptoms in adults, an astonishing and pleasing effect was striking: preschool children experienced an improvement in disease condition during the lockdown. This improvement can be attributed to a significant reduction in exposure to viral infections.

Conclusion: Long-term observation of this side effect may help improve our understanding of the influence of viral infections on asthma in early childhood.

Keywords: Asthma; COVID-19; Facemasks; Health care utilization; Psychological health; Side effects.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Impact of COVID-19 related measures on children, adolescents and adults
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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