Commentary: Health anxiety in youth during ‘COVID’ – some thoughts prompted by Rask et al. (2024)

Abstract

Researchers continue to count the short- and longer-term mental health costs for children and adolescents of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated exceptional restrictions imposed by governments on their lives in an attempt to control the pandemic and its impacts. Despite being at low risk of serious physical illness from COVID-19 themselves, some studies have reported a decline in the mental health of many young people during the pandemic. Some have suggested that this could even create a risk for long-term morbidity. In this commentary, we reflect on the excellent article by Rask and colleagues on paediatric health anxiety and consider key research gaps for the field in general and for the specific challenges and questions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its legacy.