Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on young children with feeding and eating problems and disorders and their families

Hilde Krom*, Joost van Mameren, Lianne Remijn, Katinka de Nennie, Eric Dumont, Ellen van der Gaag, Marianne C C van Leeuwen, Sandra Mulkens, Chantal Schakelaar, Angelika Kindermann

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of feeding and eating problems and disorders (FEPD) in children increased during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children with FEPD and their parents.

METHODS: Cross-sectional survey: parents of children with FEPD (0-11 years) in the Netherlands completed an online questionnaire (January-April 2021). This questionnaire included 4 demographic questions (including criteria of Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) and/or Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)) and 11 questions related to experienced impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parental responses regarding children with FEPD (including PFD and ARFID) were compared to those of healthy controls (HC).

RESULTS: In total, 240 children (median age 5.5 years (inter quartile range (IQR) 3.5-7.9); 53.3% female) were included; 129 children with FEPD and 111 HC. Most children with FEPD fulfilled criteria for PFD (n=119; 92.2%) and/or ARFID (n=117; 90.7%). Parents of children with FEPD reported more stress (of their child (p=0.014) and parental stress (p=0.014)), worse eating by the child (p<0.001), more negative relations within the family (p=0.006) and less support from the environment (p=0.001) compared to parents of HC during the COVID-19 pandemic than before.

CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the COVID-19 pandemic had great impact on young children with FEPD and their parents, because parents of children with FEPD reported significantly more perceived stress within both the child and parents, more difficult eating behavior of the child, more negative behavior between family members and less support from the environment as compared with HC.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)529-534
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
Volume75
Issue number4
Early online date15 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

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