Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our society, particularly vulnerable groups, such as families with children suffering from rare diseases. However, the psychosocial influences of COVID-19 on the healthy siblings of children with rare diseases have not been investigated yet. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the mental health of healthy siblings of children with rare congenital surgical diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and methods Siblings of children with rare congenital surgical diseases were investigated cross-sectionally between April 2020 and April 2021. Data on mental health were collected using the parent-version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Results Out of 104 families, 81 (77.88%) participated in the survey. Healthy siblings presented with comparable levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties compared with population norms before the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with studies that surveyed child and adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of siblings in this study reported a significantly lower impairment rate. Psychosocial and disease-specific risk factors of the respective outcomes in healthy siblings were identified through regression analysis models.

Conclusion In general, health-care professionals should be aware of the possibility of siblings' mental health being at risk. Therefore, screening for psychosocial deficits may be essential in preventing psychiatric disorders in this population, especially during pandemics.

Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04382820 (registered April 8, 2020)

简介 COVID-19 大流行已经影响到我们社会的方方面面，尤其是弱势群体，例如有患有罕见疾病的孩子的家庭。然而，尚未调查 COVID-19 对患有罕见疾病的儿童的健康兄弟姐妹的心理社会影响。因此，该研究旨在评估 COVID-19 大流行期间患有罕见先天性外科疾病的儿童的健康兄弟姐妹的心理健康状况。

材料和方法 在 2020 年 4 月至 2021 年 4 月期间对患有罕见先天性外科疾病的儿童的兄弟姐妹进行横断面调查。使用优势和困难问卷 (SDQ) 的父母版本收集心理健康数据。

结果 在104个家庭中，81个（77.88%）参加了调查。与 COVID-19 大流行之前的人口标准相比，健康的兄弟姐妹呈现出相当程度的情绪和行为困难。与在 COVID-19 大流行期间调查儿童和青少年心理健康的研究相比，本研究中兄弟姐妹的父母报告的损伤率显着降低。通过回归分析模型确定了健康兄弟姐妹各自结果的心理社会和疾病特异性风险因素。

结论 一般来说，医疗保健专业人员应该意识到兄弟姐妹的心理健康处于危险之中的可能性。因此，筛查社会心理缺陷对于预防该人群的精神障碍可能至关重要，尤其是在大流行期间。

试验注册 ClinicalTrials.gov：NCT04382820（2020 年 4 月 8 日注册）