Less exercise, more time spent in front of screens, higher psychological stress and reduced physical fitness: These alarming results have been obtained from various studies focusing on children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now a consortium coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has launched the COMO study to find out whether these negative effects persist. The study focused on the physical and mental health of children and adolescents in Germany. Baseline data will be collected exclusively digitally. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the project with around 1.8 million euros.
The study is being conducted by KIT in collaboration with the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, the University of Education Karlsruhe, the University of Konstanz and the University of Bochum.
“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, many children and adolescents in Germany practiced less sports than recommended by the World Health Organization. During and after the second lockdown, physical activity decreased further and the use of screen media during leisure time increased,” says Professor Alexander Wall of the KIT Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IfSS), who coordinated the COMO study.
“We suggest that the pandemic has not yet reached its end in this respect, but there are still consequences in our society,” explains Dr. Claudia Niesner. The head of the junior research group at IfSS initiated and now coordinates the consortium together with Woll. The COMO study aims to understand the long-term effects of the pandemic on children and adolescents and to identify measures that are appropriate to support their health and development. The first results are expected to be received in the early summer of 2024.
The researchers based, among others, the results of the Motor-Module Longitudinal Study (MoMo), started by KIT and the Karlsruhe University of Education in 2003. The MoMo Longitudinal Study was the only German representative study analyzing the effects of the Covid- 19 on physical activity and motor performance. Another basis for COMO is the results of the COPSY study conducted by the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
We see that the quality of life and mental health of children and adolescents has declined significantly compared to the time before the pandemic.’
Professor Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer, Head of the COPSY Study and Research Director of UKE’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
COMO is an acronym made up of the acronyms of the previous studies COPSY and MoMo.
Digital Interviews and Tests – A timely database for policy decisions
The COMO study will not only provide the latest health-related data, but also promote digitization in pediatric research. For the first time, interviews and motor tests will be conducted digitally. This will ensure quick access to data for policy decisions. COMO data will be collected online through interviews with children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 and their parents. In addition, special digital fitness tests will be carried out in video meetings under the guidance of V. Professor Anke Hanssen-Doose from the Karlsruhe University of Education. The collected COMO data will then be compared with the COPSY and MoMo results to get a complete picture. At KIT, research is embedded in the KIT Health Technology Center (KIT HealthTech), where KIT researchers from various disciplines work on viable technologies for the healthcare sector.
COMO combines sports science, psychosocial medicine and empirical social research
In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the physical and mental health of children and adolescents in Germany, the partners contribute the following expertise to the project: KIT (Prof. Alexander Wohl, Dr. Claudia Niesner) expertise in physical activity and health, UKE (Prof. . Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer) on mental health and the Karlsruhe University of Education (V. Professor Anke Hanssen-Doose) on physical fitness and constitution. The University of Konstanz (Professor Thomas Hinz) studies environmental impact and social inequalities. Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Professor Markus Reichert) analyzes how thoughts and feelings in everyday life influence behavior.
BMBF funds research on the effects of the pandemic
In a highly competitive competition, the COMO study was selected together with 17 other projects from nearly 500 proposals under the funding line “Gesellschaftliche Eräufschen der Corona-Pandemie − Forschung für Integration, Teilhabe und Erneuerung” (Social impacts of the pandemic – research on integration, participation and renewal ) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). For a period of three years, the BFBF will finance the innovative project with a total value of around 2 million euros.
source:
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
