Methods
This is a controlled, cross-sectional, single center study including 7-18 year-old CF children who have been followed up in Selim Çöremen Cystic Fibrosis Center in Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and their healthy peers.
Separate behavioral questionnaires for two different age groups (7-12 and 13-18 years), based on the child psychiatry mental health examination references [18], were formed by Marmara University Faculty of Medicine Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department.
The questionnaire included questions regarding family environment and relations, self-care practises and peer relations during lockdown, and psychological reactions regarding COVID-19 pandemic. Data regarding presence of a health worker in the family, or a family member diagnosed with COVID-19, current anxiety level, sleep disturbances, change in appetite, activities in order to mitigate their anxiety (any attempt to have a new hobby etc.) and seek for a psychological help were also collected.
In CF patients, data regarding presence of pancreatic insufficiency, colonisation of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and level of forced expiratory volume in second 1 (FEV1) were collected from patients’ medical records. Lung disease was categorised as mild, moderate and severe according to their baseline FEV1 measurements (FEV1 70-89 mild lung disease, FEV1 40 to 69% moderate lung disease, FEV1 < 40% severe lung disease [19].
The data was collected between 30th April, 2020 and 15 th of May, in Turkey this time period was the peak of pandemic, schools were closed and education was online. We conducted phone survey by asking questions directly to the children under parental supervision. Children, younger than 7 years of age or who refuse to answer the questions or children with mental problems were excluded from the study. Informed consent was obtained from all parents following their agreement to participate the phone survey and the study was approved by the medical ethics committee of Marmara University (Protocol number 09.2020.549).
Data were analyzed by using the SPSS Statistical Package for Windows version 23.0. Numerical variables were expressed as mean±standart deviation or median. Caterogical variables were compared using the Chi-square test and expressed as numbers and percentages. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.