Key result
During the COVID-19 pandemic, paediatric competitive athletes experienced a significant reduction in maximum power output per kilogram of body weight from 4.01 W/kg to 3.95 W/kg (p < 0.001), with older children showing the greatest declines.
Why the study?
Measures against COVID-19 spread in 2020 restricted movement and sports activities, prompting an evaluation of their impact on the performance of paediatric and adolescent competitive athletes.
Do COVID-19 pandemic restrictions reduce relative power output and worsen anthropometric parameters in pediatric competitive athletes?
Observational (n=389)
Do COVID-19 pandemic restrictions reduce relative power output and worsen anthropometric parameters in pediatric competitive athletes?
Absolute Event Rate: 3.95% vs 4.01%
p-value: p=<0.001
COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were associated with a significant reduction in relative power output (W/kg) and an increase in BMI among pediatric competitive athletes, particularly in older adolescents.
Restrictions associated with lower relative power output in pediatric athletes; hypothesis-generating for age-targeted mitigation.
OBJECTIVES: In 2020, measures against the spread of COVID-19 were adopted, including nationwide school closures, restrictions on the free movement of persons and leisure time sports activities. The aim was to assess the impact of COVID-19-associated restrictions on the performance of paediatric and adolescent competitive athletes by comparing basic anthropometric and performance parameters. METHODS: The sample comprised 389 participants (115 girls, 274 boys). All participants were examined during regular preventive sports health checks from September to November 2019 and a year later. At the initial examination, the mean age of the entire sample was 12.2 ± 2.7 years (median 12.0, minimum 7.0; maximum 17.0). The examination consisted of a complete medical history and physical examination including maximal exercise testing on a leg cycle ergometer. RESULTS: In the entire sample, as well as in the boy and girl subgroups, body height, weight, body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, and power output significantly increased according to a percentile graph for boys and girls in 2020. A reduction in power output (W/kg) was found. By 2020, W/kg dropped in 56.4% of the youngest participants (7-13 years), 75% of those aged 14-16 years and 64.9% of the oldest individuals (16-17 years). The percentage of the youngest children with power output reductions was statistically significantly lower than the percentages of the other age subgroups (p = 0.007). There were no significant differences in results between genders. CONCLUSIONS: Performance and anthropometric parameters worsened especially among older children. This should be reflected when planning epidemic measures in case of any similar situation in the future.
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Pastucha et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Paediatric competitive athletes (n=389). COVID-19 pandemic-associated restrictions vs. Pre-pandemic baseline (2019) was evaluated on Power output per kg of body weight (W/kg) (p=<0.001). During the COVID-19 pandemic, paediatric competitive athletes experienced a significant reduction in maximum power output per kilogram of body weight from 4.01 W/kg to 3.95 W/kg (p < 0.001), with older children showing the greatest declines.
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