TY - JOUR
T1 - Long COVID symptoms in Israeli children with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection
T2 - a cross-sectional study
AU - Adler, Limor
AU - Israel, Moran
AU - Yehoshua, Ilan
AU - Azuri, Joseph
AU - Hoffman, Robert
AU - Shahar, Arnon
AU - Mizrahi Reuveni, Miri
AU - Grossman, Zachi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use.
PY - 2023/2/21
Y1 - 2023/2/21
N2 - Objectives To estimate the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to evaluate factors associated with long COVID. Design A nationwide cross-sectional study. Setting Primary care. Participants 3240 parents of children aged 5-18 with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection completed an online questionnaire (11.9% response rate); 1148 and 2092 with/without a history of infection, respectively. Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcome was the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with/without a history of infection. Secondary outcomes were the factors associated with the presence of long COVID symptoms and with failure to return to baseline health status in children with a history of infection including gender, age, time from illness, symptomatic illness and vaccine status. Results Most long COVID symptoms were more prevalent in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection: headaches (211 (18.4%) vs 114 (5.4%), p<0.001), weakness (173 (15.1%) vs 70 (3.3%), p<0.001), fatigue (141 (12.3%) vs 133 (6.4%), p<0.001) and abdominal pain (109 (9.5%) vs 79 (3.8%), p<0.001). Most long COVID symptoms in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection were more prevalent in the older age group (12-18) compared with the younger age group (5-11). Some symptoms were more prevalent in children without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including attention problems with school malfunctioning (225 (10.8%) vs 98 (8.5%), p=0.05), stress (190 (9.1%) vs 65 (5.7%), p<0.001), social problems (164 (7.8%) vs 32 (2.8%)) and weight changes (143 (6.8%) vs 43 (3.7%), p<0.001). Conclusion This study suggests that the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection might be higher and more prevalent in adolescents than in young children. Some of the symptoms, mainly somatic symptoms, were more prevalent in children without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, highlighting the impact of the pandemic itself rather than the infection.
AB - Objectives To estimate the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to evaluate factors associated with long COVID. Design A nationwide cross-sectional study. Setting Primary care. Participants 3240 parents of children aged 5-18 with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection completed an online questionnaire (11.9% response rate); 1148 and 2092 with/without a history of infection, respectively. Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcome was the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with/without a history of infection. Secondary outcomes were the factors associated with the presence of long COVID symptoms and with failure to return to baseline health status in children with a history of infection including gender, age, time from illness, symptomatic illness and vaccine status. Results Most long COVID symptoms were more prevalent in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection: headaches (211 (18.4%) vs 114 (5.4%), p<0.001), weakness (173 (15.1%) vs 70 (3.3%), p<0.001), fatigue (141 (12.3%) vs 133 (6.4%), p<0.001) and abdominal pain (109 (9.5%) vs 79 (3.8%), p<0.001). Most long COVID symptoms in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection were more prevalent in the older age group (12-18) compared with the younger age group (5-11). Some symptoms were more prevalent in children without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including attention problems with school malfunctioning (225 (10.8%) vs 98 (8.5%), p=0.05), stress (190 (9.1%) vs 65 (5.7%), p<0.001), social problems (164 (7.8%) vs 32 (2.8%)) and weight changes (143 (6.8%) vs 43 (3.7%), p<0.001). Conclusion This study suggests that the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection might be higher and more prevalent in adolescents than in young children. Some of the symptoms, mainly somatic symptoms, were more prevalent in children without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, highlighting the impact of the pandemic itself rather than the infection.
KW - COVID-19
KW - EPIDEMIOLOGY
KW - PAEDIATRICS
KW - PRIMARY CARE
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148550392&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064155
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064155
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C2 - 36810170
AN - SCOPUS:85148550392
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 13
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 2
M1 - e064155
ER -