Exposome changes in primary school children following the wide population non-pharmacological interventions implemented due to COVID-19 in Cyprus: A national survey

Abstract

Background: Non-pharmacological interventions (NPI), including lockdowns, have been used to address the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe changes in the environment and lifestyle of school children in Cyprus before the lockdown and during school reopening , and assess compliance to NPI, using the exposome concept. Methods: During June 2020, parents completed an online questionnaire about their children's lifestyle/behaviours for two periods; school reopening (May 21-June 26) following the population-wide lockdown, and the school period before lockdown (before March). Findings: Responses were received for 1509 children from over 180 primary schools. More than 72% of children complied with most NPI measures; however, only 48% decreased the number of vulnerable contacts at home. Sugary food consumption was higher in the post-lockdown period with 37% and 26% of the children eating sugary items daily and 4À6 times/week, compared to 33% and 19%, respectively, for the pre-lockdown period (p<0.001). Children's physical activity decreased compared to pre-lockdown (p<0.001), while screen time increased in the post-lockdown period, with 25% of children spending 4-7 hours/day in front of screens vs. 10% in the pre-lockdown period (p<0.001). About half of the children washed their hands with soap 4À7 times/day post-lockdown vs. 30% in the pre-lockdown period (p<0.001). Interpretation: This national survey showed a high degree of compliance to NPI measures among school children. Furthermore, the exposome profile of children may be affected in the months following NPI measures due to alterations in diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and hand hygiene habits.

Physical Activity, Sedentariness, Eating Behaviour and Well-Being during a COVID-19 Lockdown Period in Greek Adolescents

“…However, eating behavioral patterns have deteriorated in the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., number of main meals or snacks between meals, eating out of control or type of food) [ 36 ]. Furthermore, data from Cyprus for the pre- and post-lockdown period due to COVID-19 reported a significant increase of young people (5–14 years old) consuming food items containing sugar [ 18 ]. Initiatives towards healthier eating behavior at home are thus essential, and relevant updates have been recently published for further action.…”

“…This is an unsurprising finding because sedentary time has been repeatedly associated with deteriorated well-being components (e.g., depression) in large-scale epidemiological studies across adolescents [ 7 , 8 ] and adult populations [ 3 ]. Moreover, adolescents living in COVID-19 lockdowns have demonstrated increased sedentariness and low well-being [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]; sitting time in particular has dramatically increased [ 36 ] and clearly related with deteriorated well-being components including sleeping patterns and depressive and anxiety symptoms [ 43 ]. Tackling sedentary time in Greek adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and involved lockdowns should thus be prioritized to decrease sitting time modalities such as the widespread screen time.…”

“…However, physical activity and well-being are decreasing worldwide after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration by the WHO in March 2020. Particularly, lockdown measures via social distance restrictions including closures of schools, leisure facilities and sport clubs have been repeatedly introduced to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus but led adolescents to lower physical activity and well-being [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. In spite of this rather somber reality, some encouraging findings were provided by a study conducted in China [ 16 ], which reported that even limited weekly physical activity (>60 min of weekly) was linked to lower risk of deteriorated well-being in young people during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

COVID-19 and social distancing among children and adolescents in Brazil

“…It is not known if measures of social distancing are equally followed by different age groups, it is possible that the lower prevalence of Covid-19 among children could be partially explained by spending less time in outdoor activities and having lower exposure to contaminated people 13 .Furthermore, families with children might be more adherent to measures of social distancing; in a Cyprus study, 72% of children complied with most of the non-pharmacological interventions 14 .…”

Stakeholders′ Perceptions of Environmental and Public Health Risks Associated with Hydrocarbon Activities in and around the Vasilikos Energy Center, Cyprus

“…The growth of VEC in Cyprus’ seaside area and its impact on surrounding communities’ health can be better understood by employing a comprehensive framework, such as the human exposome. As a result, the exposome of the population around the VEC is defined by habitual patterns, as well as the context in which they occur, the accompanying environmental exposures, and personal and contextual factors, such as occupational factors or individual behaviors and lifestyle habits [ 12 , 13 , 17 ]. In this study, we explored the interest and the knowledge of the exposome concept among the research-oriented stakeholders.…”