The study aims to understand, diagnose, treat and prevent long COVID, a condition marked by symptoms and health problems that linger after an infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Children and adolescents were found to experience prolonged symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection in almost every organ system with most having symptoms affecting more than one system.
The observational study included 3,860 children and adolescents with a SARS-CoV-2 infection history at more than 60 sites across the United States between March 2022 and December 2023.
Other common symptoms in school-age children not included in the research index included body, muscle and joint pain; daytime tiredness/sleepiness or low energy; and feeling anxious.
Gross added that most COVID research focused on adults due to the “misperception that children don’t get long COVID.”
Comparing previous research on long-term COVID in adults, the new study found that adults and adolescents had a greater overlap in symptoms, such as loss of or change in smell or taste.
Researchers found less overlap between adults and school-age children, underscoring the importance of age-based long COVID research.
“Our next step is to study children ages 5 years and younger so we can better understand long COVID in the very young,” said Gross.
In a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published this week in the JAMA medical journal, the most prevalent symptoms of long-term COVID-19 were found to be similar but distinct patterns between school-age children (ages 6–11) and adolescents (ages 12–17). The goal of the project is to better understand, identify, manage, and prevent long-term COVID-19, a disorder characterized by health issues and symptoms that persist after an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Following SARS-CoV-2 infection, it was discovered that children and adolescents experienced prolonged symptoms in nearly every organ system, with the majority of them affecting multiple systems.
According to David Goff, M.D., “the majority of research characterizing long COVID symptoms is focused on adults, which can lead to the misperception that long COVID in children is rare or that their symptoms are similar to those of adults.”. as Ph. C. , division head of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. Without a thorough characterization of symptoms across the life span, it is challenging to determine how to best treat affected children and adolescents because the symptoms can differ from child to child or present in different patterns. “.
3,860 children and teenagers with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in the observational study, which took place at more than 60 locations around the country between March 2022 and December 2023. To investigate whether the prolonged symptoms of COVID-19 patients were caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection per se, or more broadly by the pandemic’s effects, a comparison group of 1,516 children and adolescents without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection was also included.
Children and adolescents both experience COVID-19 in a similar way.
The study found that among school-age children, 18 prolonged symptoms were more common. These symptoms included headache (57 percent), memory or focus problems (44 percent), difficulty sleeping (44 percent), and stomach pain (43 percent). Body, muscle, and joint pain; daytime fatigue or lack of energy; and anxiety were other prevalent symptoms in school-age children that were left out of the research index.
Among the 17 symptoms that were more common in teenagers were fatigue or low energy during the day (80%), headaches (55%), body, muscle, or joint pain (60%), and difficulty focusing or remembering things (47%). Anxiety and insomnia were two other frequently reported symptoms that were left out of the research index.
According to Rachel Gross, M.D, “the symptoms that make up the research index are most predictive in determining who may have long COVID,” even though they are not the most severe or all of the symptoms a child may experience. Lead author on the study and associate professor in the pediatrics and population health departments at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Due to the “misconception that children don’t get long COVID,” Gross continued, the majority of COVID research has been conducted on adults. “.
There was overlap in 14 symptoms between the age groups. The new study discovered that there was more overlap in symptoms between adults and adolescents with long-term COVID-19, such as changes or loss of taste or smell. Less overlap was discovered between adults and school-age children, highlighting the significance of age-based long COVID research.
Researchers point out that the research index is merely a framework for examining typical symptoms for research purposes, not as a manual for clinical care, and that it will probably be improved upon as more children with and without long COVID are studied.
“In order to better understand long COVID in the very young, our next step is to study children ages 5 and younger,” stated Gross.
