EFFECTS OF LONG COVID ON THE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND PHYSICAL CAPACITIES OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN BAURU-SP

• Grant number: 23/00375-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Paula Fávaro Polastri Zago
• Grantee: Júlia de Oliveira França Aguilera
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Although currently the scenario in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic has stabilized with the application of vaccines,new cases arise at all times and the population continues to be infected. Symptoms vary between people and may develop in mild to more severe form. Few studies, however, have sought to understand the prolonged effect of symptoms caused by the virus for several months after curing the disease. This situation, called by the World Health Organization as long COVID, has affected not only individuals with severe cases of the disease, but also adults, adolescents and even children who have contracted mild and asymptomatic cases of the disease. Studies have shown that debilitating situations associated with long COVID can decrease the child's learning abilities, becoming a risk factor for developmental delays. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the physical abilities and the fundamental motor skills of children, with and without diagnosis of COVID-19, and correlate motor performance and physical capacity levels with possible symptoms of long COVID. For the study, 20 children diagnosed with COVID-19 infection (experimental group) and 20 children without clinical diagnosis and probable infection by the disease (control group), aged between 8 and 10 years, will participate. Two collection sessions will be held, and in the first session, the participants will be submitted to an anamnesis and the thick motor skills test (TGMD-2) that will be divided into two subtests: locomotor and object control. In the second session, participants will perform the EUROFIT Test Battery to assess the strength capacities of lower limb, upper limb, balance, agility and speed. Both tests, motor and physical capabilities, will be scored and subsequently analyzed according to the standards of each test. Variance analyses (ANOVAs) will be used to verify possible differences between groups for dependent variables: age, body weight and height. Also, another set of one-way ANOVAs will be used to verify the differences between the groups in the execution of locomotor and object control skills, as well as in the measures of physical capabilities investigated. To verify possible correlations between the results of motor skills tests and physical capacity tests with possible long covid symptoms in children in the experimental group, Pearson/Spearman correlation analyses with 95% confidence intervals will be performed. The significance level will be maintained at p < 0.05 for all analyses.