Long COVID Symptoms in Children Tend to Alter

The Children and young people with Long COVID (CLoCk) study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, is the world’s largest study on long COVID in children. Researchers asked children aged 11 to 17 about their health six months and 12 months after taking a PCR test between September 2020 and March 2021. They also asked them to recall their symptoms at the time of taking the test.

None of the children initially invited to participate in the study had been hospitalized. In total the researchers examined data from 5,086 children, 2,909 of whom tested positive for COVID-19, and 2,177 of whom tested negative.

They asked the children and young people what they had experienced from a list of 21 symptoms, including shortness of breath and tiredness, as well as using validated scales to assess the quality of life, mental health, well-being, and fatigue.

Long COVID In Children: New Study Looks at Symptoms, Duration

The team found that, at the time of testing, health issues were more common in children and young people who had tested positive for the virus compared to those who tested negative, as well as six months and 12 months post PCR test.

They also noted that the symptoms experienced changed over a year. And while some of the children’s original symptoms declined, new symptoms were reported.

This was also the case when researchers looked at scales measuring the poor quality of life, experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties, poor well-being, and fatigue.

As a result, they concluded that the symptoms of long COVID experienced by children and young people change over time and that clinicians should be aware of this.

Simply reporting repeated cross-sectional prevalences – or snapshots – of symptoms over time may obscure important information about long COVID in young people that has clinical relevance.

This CLoCK study is one of four major studies funded by NIHR and UKRI to help improve understanding of the causes, symptoms, and treatment of the longer-term effects of COVID-19 in people who have not become unwell enough to be admitted to the hospital.

This research goes one step further than existing studies and indicates that researchers need to track individual trajectories using repeated measurements on the same children and young people over time. The landmark study will continue to analyze survey results from participants for up to two years after the initial PCR test.



Source-Eurekalert