STUDIES OF LONG COVID IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
We identified 14 studies (4 cross-sectional studies,
Table 1 and
https://links.lww.com/INF/E531). The number of children and adolescents in each study varied from 16 to 6804 (median 330, interquartile range 89–1533). All of the studies were done in high-income countries. Case reports, studies which followed children after a SARS-CoV-2 infection but did not evaluate symptoms of long COVID or studies which did not address predominantly children and adolescents were not included.43–50
There is marked heterogeneity between studies, including differences in design, inclusion criteria, outcomes, and follow-up times (
Table 2). Children were evaluated for persistent symptoms for varying durations: more than 4 weeks (2 studies),31,36 more than 4 and 8 weeks (1 study),35 more than 4 and 12 weeks (2 studies),34,41 more than 12 weeks (1 study),37 more than 5 months (2 studies),33,40 and at arbitrary timepoints (6 studies).26,30,32,38,39,42 In 7 studies, evaluation of symptoms was done only through online questionnaires or phone interviews,26,31,32,34–36,40 while 5 studies included study visits.30,33,39,41,42
RESULTS OF STUDIES OF LONG COVID IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
The prevalence of long COVID symptoms varied considerably between studies from 4 to 66%.26,33–38,40–42 There was also a large variation in the reported frequency of persistent symptoms. The most common reported symptoms were headache (3 to 80%), fatigue (3 to 87%), sleep disturbance (2 to 63%), concentration difficulties (2 to 81%), abdominal pain (1 to 76%), myalgia or arthralgia (1 to 61%), congested or runny nose (1 to 12%), cough (1 to 30%), chest tightness or pain (1 to 31%), loss of appetite or weight (2 to 50%), disturbed smell or anosmia (3 to 26%), and rash (2 to 52%) (
https://links.lww.com/INF/E531).
26,30–42 Four studies reported a much higher prevalence of symptoms compared with the other studies.26,30–32 Of these studies, 3 were done at arbitrary timepoints after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.26,30,32 Six studies reported a positive correlation between increasing age,30,35–37,39,40 3 between female sex30,36,37 and 1 each between allergic diseases40 or worse pre-infection physical and mental health37 and the prevalence of persisting symptoms.
40 Furthermore, one study found an association between longer hospitalization and more severe persistent symptoms, and between PIMS-TS and a higher prevalence of persistent symptoms.38
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, the evidence for long COVID in children and adolescents is limited, and all studies to date have substantial limitations or do not show a difference between children who had been infected by SARS-CoV-2 and those who were not. The absence of a control group in the majority of studies makes it difficult to separate symptoms attributable to long COVID from pandemic-associated symptoms.30,34,36
In light of the large number of children and adolescents infected with SARS-CoV-2, the impact of even a low prevalence of persisting symptoms will be considerable. However, in the majority of studies, symptoms did not persist longer than 12 weeks.33–35,41 Consistent with this, 1 study that did find a difference between cases and controls in persisting symptoms (at 4 weeks post COVID) reported that by 8 weeks, most symptoms had resolved, suggesting long COVID might be less of a concern in children and adolescents than in adults.35 Interestingly in one study, more than half of adolescents in the uninfected control group reported symptoms at 12 weeks despite only 8% reporting symptoms at the time of testing for SARS-CoV-2.37
The relative scarcity of studies of long COVID and the limitations of those reported to date mean the true incidence of this syndrome in children and adolescents remains uncertain. The impact of age, disease severity and duration, virus strain, and other factors on the risk of long COVID in this age group also remains to be determined.
In light of the importance of long COVID in the risk-benefit equation for policy decisions on COVID vaccines for children and adolescents, further studies to accurately determine the risk of long COVID are urgently needed.55 These should include rigorous control groups, including children with other infections and those admitted to hospital or intensive care for other reasons. Longitudinal cohort studies should include regular testing for SARS-CoV-2 to confirm infection, meticulous capture of symptoms, follow-up times that are both consistent and sufficiently long to account for intermittent symptoms, and recording of preexisting medical conditions. More research to identify underlying immunological mechanisms of long COVID is also needed.
----------
10 of the 14 above Long Covid Pediatric studies are
peer-reviewed...non emotional.
Strangely, missing from the above Pediatric Long Covid studies was Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
It's a well known serious condition that appears to be linked to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Most children who become infected with the COVID-19 virus have only a mild illness. But in children who go on to develop MIS-C, some organs and tissues — such as the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin or eyes — become severely inflamed. Signs and symptoms depend on which areas of the body are affected.
With that said, I'm aware that studies including peer-reviewed studies can be used in a manipulating way to present a story that's not true.
Yet, I'm also aware that children dealing with
mental illness after their Covid infection could in fact be due to the Pandemic and not the recovery that's been prolonged as Long Covid.
Regardless, children with
mental illness may be as miniscule as children with Long Covid of the total population. Its data that's still coming out and we may not know how severe it is until after the Pandemic.
The one fact remains, children and teenagers better handled the 2020 Covid Pandemic in comparison to adults a lot better than the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.
wrbtrader
