Version 1
: Received: 17 September 2024 / Approved: 19 September 2024 / Online: 19 September 2024 (20:18:58 CEST)
How to cite:
Kisielinski, K.; Steigleder-Schweiger, C.; Wagner, S.; Korupp, S.; Hockertz, S.; Hirsch, O. Risks and Benefits of Face Masks in Children. Preprints2024, 2024091508. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1508.v1
Kisielinski, K.; Steigleder-Schweiger, C.; Wagner, S.; Korupp, S.; Hockertz, S.; Hirsch, O. Risks and Benefits of Face Masks in Children. Preprints 2024, 2024091508. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1508.v1
Kisielinski, K.; Steigleder-Schweiger, C.; Wagner, S.; Korupp, S.; Hockertz, S.; Hirsch, O. Risks and Benefits of Face Masks in Children. Preprints2024, 2024091508. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1508.v1
APA Style
Kisielinski, K., Steigleder-Schweiger, C., Wagner, S., Korupp, S., Hockertz, S., & Hirsch, O. (2024). Risks and Benefits of Face Masks in Children. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1508.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Kisielinski, K., Stefan Hockertz and Oliver Hirsch. 2024 "Risks and Benefits of Face Masks in Children" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1508.v1
Abstract
Children account for a significant proportion of the world's population and are a particularly vulnerable subpopulation regarding environmental factors. In a scoping review of a total of 3130 articles compiled from relevant medical literature, including 107 publications, we provide an empirical overview of the literature on masks in connection with children, particularly with regard to its' expected effects on viruses during the pandemic 2020-2023 versus scientific reality and evidence, including the side effects. While masks lack ecological validity from a strictly empirical point of view (transferability of experimental results from laboratories and modelling to the real world, e.g. to situations or environments typical of everyday life) and high-quality studies are showing little evidence of their effectiveness in real-world scenarios, whereas the side effects appear to be clear. An individual risk-benefit analysis is necessary and also a consideration of the situations, in which the use of masks in children could be justified. This review including the literature found and analysed will be able to help when making decisions in this regard.
Keywords
Children; masks; N95; surgical mask; risk; adverse effects; long-term adverse effects; health risk assessment; toxicity; MIES syndrome
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.