Health-Related Quality of Life and Impact of Socioeconomic Status among Primary and Secondary School Students after the third COVID-19 Wave in Berlin, Germany

Abstract

In the earlier phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies in Germany and elsewhere found an overall reduction in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among students. However, there is little evidence on later pandemic stages as well as socioeconomic influencing factors. We aimed to 1) describe HRQoL in a Berlin student cohort at two time points in mid-2021, and to 2) analyze the effects of household income and education. We assessed HRQoL of students from 24 randomly selected primary and secondary schools in Berlin, Germany with the KIDSCREEN-10 index in June and September 2021. To adjust for non-response bias, inverse probability weighting was applied. The potential effects of both household income and education (lower vs. higher) were estimated in generalized linear mixed models, based on prior assumptions presented in directed acyclic graphs. Our cohort comprised 660 students aged 7-19 years. In June 2021, 11.3% reported low HRQoL, whereas in September 2021, this increased to 13.7%, with adolescent girls more frequently reporting low HRQoL than boys and younger children at both time points (20% and 29%). While there was no statistically significant total effect of lower household income on HRQoL, a negative effect of lower household education was statistically significant (β = -2.15, SE = 0.95, 95% CI = -4.01 to -0.29, p = 0.024). In summary, students’ HRQoL in mid-2021 was better than that documented in other studies conducted at pandemic onset. Female adolescents reported low HRQoL more often, and lower household education significantly reduced children's HRQoL. Support strategies for psychosocial wellbeing should consider socioeconomically disadvantaged children as important target groups.

Determinants of health-related quality of life in healthy children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a prospective longitudinal cohort study

“…Studies examining determinants of HRQOL since the onset of the pandemic have often focused on only a few potentially determining factors. Associations have been reported with body composition, PA and nutrition [51], Mediterranean diet [52], ST [4,53], and household education [54].…”

“…Studies examining determinants of HRQOL since the onset of the pandemic have often focused on only a few potentially determining factors. Associations have been reported with body composition, PA and nutrition [47], Mediterranean diet [48], ST [4,49], and household education [50]. International comparisons of HRQOL in children during the pandemic are however complicated by the wide range and severity of restrictions, especially school closures.…”