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. 2023 Jun;36(2):57-61.
doi: 10.1089/ped.2022.0147. Epub 2023 Mar 24.

Changes in Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents with Asthma during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Christy Kim  1   2 , Sankaran Krishnan  1   2 , John J Welter  1 , Kathleen Fan  1 , Samuel Desantis  1 , Jennifer Kim  1 , Sheila V Krishnan  3 , Diane Lindsay-Adler  2 , Allen J Dozor  1   2
Affiliations

Changes in Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents with Asthma during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Christy Kim et al. Pediatr Allergy Immunol Pulmonol. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

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/m2/month during the pandemic year as compared with 0.084 ± 0.160 kg/m2/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.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; asthma; obesity.

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