Introduction: COVID-19 lockdown measures resulted in children and adolescents staying and learning at home. This study investigated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its associated factors among youth during the first lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 8- to 18-year-olds from the French Grand Est region. Sociodemographic data and information on living and learning conditions were collected using an online survey. HRQoL was assessed using the KIDSCREEN-27. Multiple regression analysis was performed to explore factors related to low HRQoL in each dimension. Results: In total, 471 children from 341 households were included. Difficulties isolating at home were associated with low HRQoL in the psychological well-being (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2–4.0) and parent relations and autonomy (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.2–3.8) dimensions. Conflicts with dwelling occupants were related to increased ORs in the psychological well-being (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.9–4.6), parent relations and autonomy (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.4–3.4) and school environment (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.5–3.7) dimensions. Living in an apartment (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1–3.1), never leaving home (OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.2–5.9), having indoor noise at home (OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2–4.6), and having a parent with high anxiety (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1–3.1) were associated with low HRQoL in the social support and peers dimension. Children working less than 1 h/day on schoolwork had an increased OR of 3.5 (95% CI: 1.4–9.0) in the school environment dimension. Conclusion: Living and learning conditions were associated with low HRQoL among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown. Prevention and intervention programs are needed to support youth by facilitating their interactions and improving their coping and to prepare for future waves.

Gingival bleeding (GB) is a common sign of gingival inflammation which indicates the presence of periodontal diseases. This cross-sectional multicenter survey aimed to assess the prevalence of self-reported gingival bleeding (SRGB) in French adults and identify the main associated factors. A questionnaire-based interview was randomly proposed to 794 individuals in four French cities (Nancy, Montpellier, Paris, and Rennes). Subjects were recruited in preventive medicine centers (50%), railway stations, and malls (50%). The questionnaire comprised 25 items: SRGB characteristics, socioeconomic variables, oral hygiene habits, use of drugs, and anxiety level. The overall prevalence of SRGB was 63.2% [59.8%; 66.6%], with 58.7% bleeding after toothbrushing and 4.5% spontaneous bleeding. Males reported significantly lower SRGB prevalence than females (p = 0.04). The distribution of SRGB frequency was inversely proportional to age (p < 0.0001). No association between drug use and SRGB was found. The people interviewed in the preventive medicine centers reported the highest frequency of SRGB (p < 0.0001). In the multivariate logistic model, SRGB was significantly related to occupation, smoking status, brushing frequency, and anxiety level. In conclusion, SRGB was prevalent in more than half of the sample and was mainly associated with age, toothbrushing frequency, and anxiety level. Thus, providing information to patients about the importance of this oral manifestation may play an important role in preventing periodontal diseases.

Gingival bleeding (GB) is a common sign of gingival inflammation, which indicates the presence of periodontal diseases. This study aimed to describe the perception of French adults about their self-reported GB and answers of healthcare professionals regarding the GB reported by these interviewees. A questionnaire administered by one investigator in each of three public settings of four cities in France from September 2016 to November 2017. Among 794 adults interviewed, 502 (63.2%) reported a GB. Among them, 414 (82.5%) believed that GB is benign, and 309 (61.6%) declared one or more responses. The three main responses were to use mouthwash (29.3%), to change to a soft-bristle toothbrush (20.1%) and to modify the brushing technique (19.3%). Almost half (49.0%) questioned at least one healthcare professional concerning their GB: a dentist (43.0%), a physician (14.1%), and a pharmacist (8.0%). The main response of each healthcare professional was: for dentists: a “prescription of mouthwash”, for physicians to say “gingival bleeding is not serious”; and for pharmacists: “to sell a mouthwash”. Most of the participants considered their GB as benign and had inappropriate responses, which indicates their lack of knowledge regarding periodontal health. The same conclusions can be drawn for healthcare professionals, as reported by interviewees.

Billions of children/adolescents experienced unprecedented changes in their daily lives that impacted their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019. The purpose of this study was to describe child-parent discrepancies in reporting on HRQoL and explore factors associated with such discrepancies at the end of the first lockdown in France. A cross-sectional study was conducted among French school-aged children from 8 to 18 years and their parents living in the Grand Est region in France during the first wave of the epidemic. The impact of individual, self-reported health status and environmental data on discrepant parent–child reports of HRQoL was assessed by multinomial multivariable logistic regression models. A total of 471 parent–child pairs were included. Among 50% of the discordant pairs, parents underestimated HRQoL more frequently than they overestimated it. Home location, social support score, children’s education level, parents’ education level, tensions and conflicts with neighbors reported by children, whether they had access to a garden, and parents’ professional activity were significantly associated with parental overestimation (_adjustedOR from 2.08 to 11.61; p < 0.05). Factors associated with parental underestimation were children’s education level, SF12 score, home location, the child’s gender, parent’s level of education, the presence of noise in the residence reported by children, whether a household member was infected with COVID-19, whether they had access to a garden, and family structure (_adjustedOR from 1.60 to 4.0; p < 0.05). This study revealed differences between child-reported and parent-reported HRQoL. The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated the discrepancies in observable dimensions and attenuated them in unobservable dimensions of HRQoL but did not impact the directional discrepancy; parents underestimated their child’s HRQoL more. These discrepancies appear to be explained by parent and child sociodemographic factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted adolescent mental health worldwide. The current study aims to assess the feelings of French adolescents and the factors related to anxiety among these adolescents during the first lockdown due to COVID-19. A sample of 284 French adolescents from the Grand Est region aged 12-18 years completed an online survey evaluating their pandemic-related anxiety symptoms, behaviors, and feelings regarding the contingent strategies of lockdown that were taken and their living and learning conditions, family relationships, and social support. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-6) was used to assess anxiety. Data on parents' mental health status were also collected. A word cloud was generated to visualize respondents' feelings according to word use frequency. Cross-sectional analysis with linear regression was performed to identify the factors associated with a higher level of anxiety in adolescents. Higher anxiety scale scores were observed among females than among males (β = 1.2; P = 0.0005), among adolescents experiencing conflicts at home (β = 0.9; P = 0.03) and difficulties in isolation (β = 1.1; P = 0.02) than among those who did not report any difficulty, and among those working less than 2 h a day (β = 1.1; P = 0.003) than among those working more. Anxiety scale scores were lower in adolescents with higher family social support (β = -0.66; P < 0.001) and those with parents with no anxiety (β = -2.28; P < 0.001), lower anxiety (β = -1.38; P = 0.018), and higher mental health-related quality of life (β = -0.04; P = 0.03). These findings suggest a need to support interventions targeting parents' anxiety, develop strategies to increase family support, and establish consistent work schedules for children.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic placed important challenges on parents, as they had to meet various demands during lockdown, including childcare, work and homeschooling. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate perceived stress levels among the parents of school-aged children and explore their association with sociodemographic, environmental and psychological factors during lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the parents of school-aged children ages 8 to 18, who lived in the Grand Est region of France during the first wave of the pandemic. An online survey collected sociodemographic data, living and working conditions, and exposure to COVID-19 as well as parent’s levels of perceived stress (PSS-10), self-perceived health status (SF-12), social support (MSPSS) and resilience (BRS). Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to evaluate the association between moderate to severe perceived stress and various factors. Results: In total, 734 parents were included. The results indicated that 47% were experiencing moderate stress and 7.2% were experiencing severe stress. Factors most strongly associated with risk of moderate to severe levels of stress were lower levels of parental resilience (OR = 3.8, 95% CI: 2.2–6.6) and poor self-perceived mental health status (OR = 7.3, 95% CI: 5.0–10.8). The following risk factors were also identified: female sex; being in the age range of 35–44; difficulties isolating and contracting COVID-19, which involved hospitalization and separation or isolation from family. The support of friends (OR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.7–1.0) and family (OR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.8) were protective factors. Conclusions: These findings suggest that supportive and preventive programs should focus on the improvement of resilience and mental health management to promote parents’ wellbeing. Research has to focus both on individuals’ inner potential for increasing resilience and the environmental resources to be activated. Building and boosting resilience among parents could serve as a protective factor against negative outcomes for them and their families.