Long COVID uncommon in children, analysis finds

Date:
August 4, 2021
Source:
King's College London
Summary:
Fewer than one in 20 children with symptomatic COVID-19 experienced
symptoms lasting longer than 4 weeks, and almost all children have
fully recovered by 8 weeks, a new study has found.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Fewer than one in 20 children with symptomatic COVID-19 experienced
symptoms lasting longer than 4 weeks, and almost all children have fully recovered by 8 weeks, a new study has found.


==========================================================================
In a study published today in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health,
researchers at King's College London looked at daily health reports logged
in the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app between March 2020 and February 2021 by parents or carers on behalf of more than 250,000 children aged 5-17, with nearly 7,000 having symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and a positive test.

The team previously analysed data from adults using the ZOE COVID Symptom Study, and showed that around one in 7 adults experienced COVID-19
symptoms lasting 4 weeks, while one in 20 were ill for 8 weeks or longer.

For this analysis, the team focused on the period from September 2020
through to February 2021. This coincided with the reopening of schools
in the autumn and the peak of the winter wave when there was widespread availability of COVID testing.

During this time, 1,734 children were reported who had a clear start and
end point to their symptoms and a positive COVID PCR test, enabling the researchers to determine their duration of illness with some allowance
for symptoms reoccurring.

On average, the illness lasted for 5 days in younger children (5 to 11
years old) and 7 days in older children aged 12 to 17. Fewer than one
in 20 (4.4%) experienced symptoms for 4 weeks or more, while only one
in fifty (1.8%) had symptoms lasting more than 8 weeks.



==========================================================================
The most common symptoms reported in children were headaches, tiredness (fatigue), a sore throat, and loss of smell (anosmia). Typically,
these children had six different COVID symptoms in the first week, and
around eight different symptoms in total over the duration of their
illness. Reassuringly, there were no reports of serious neurological
symptoms such as fits or seizures, impaired concentration or attention,
or anxiety.

The researchers then compared outcomes for the children testing positive
for COVID-19 with the same number of age and sex-matched children who
were reported as having symptoms in the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app but
then tested negative for coronavirus.

On average, these children were ill for only three days, most commonly reporting sore throat, headaches, fever and fatigue. While only a
handful of this control cohort had symptoms lasting 4 weeks or more,
these children had more symptoms than the children with long illness
after COVID-19.

Although the levels of common infectious diseases such as 'flu,
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other, coughs and colds have been unusually low during the 2020-2021 winter due to school closures and
social distancing, there is a risk that they will bounce back hard over
the coming years.

As well as shedding light on the risk of long illness in children with
COVID- 19, this study also highlights that other childhood infections
can cause long- term illness, with implications for the planning and
delivery of child health services after the pandemic.



==========================================================================
Dr Michael Absoud, a senior author of the study and Consultant &
Senior Lecturer from the School of Life Course Sciences, said:
"Our data highlight that other illnesses, such as colds and flu,
can also have prolonged symptoms in children and it is important to
consider this when planning for paediatric health services during the
pandemic and beyond. This will be particularly important given that the prevalence of these illnesses is likely to increase as physical distancing measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are relaxed. All children who have persistent symptoms -- from any illness -- need timely multidisciplinary support linked with education, to enable them to find
their individual pathway to recovery." Health Minister, Lord Bethell
said: "Studies like this will help us build our understanding of long
COVID and its impact on different groups as we learn to live with the
virus. As the Health and Social Care Secretary has said, we want the UK
to be a world leader in researching long COVID.

"It's encouraging to see the condition is uncommon among children
and we will continue to provide support to those suffering the long
term effects of the virus. Already we have opened over 80 long COVID
assessment services across England, including specialist services for
children and young people backed by -L-100 million.

"We are also supporting our exceptional scientists with over -L-50 million
for research to better understand the long term effects to ensure the
right help and treatments are available." Senior author Emma Duncan,
Professor of Clinical Endocrinology at King's College London, said:
"We know from other studies that many children who catch coronavirus
don't show any symptoms at all; and it will be reassuring for families to
know that those children who do fall ill with COVID-19 are unlikely to
suffer prolonged effects. However, our research confirms that a small
number do have a long illness duration with COVID-19, though these
children too usually recover with time. We hope our results will be
useful for doctors, parents, and schools caring for these children --
and of course affected children themselves. It's also important that we remember that there are other infectious diseases that can leave children unwell for many weeks, and these children shouldn't be overlooked."
Professor Tim Spector, ZOE COVID Symptom Study lead, said: "This research highlights the importance of the data that thousands of parents and
carers have contributed on behalf of their children. These insights
are only possible through large-scale community data science, and we're grateful to everyone who has taken a minute or two out of their busy days
to log the health of themselves and their family during the pandemic." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by King's_College_London. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Erika Molteni, Carole H Sudre, Liane S Canas, Sunil S Bhopal,
Robert C
Hughes, Michela Antonelli, Benjamin Murray, Kerstin Kla"ser,
Eric Kerfoot, Liyuan Chen, Jie Deng, Christina Hu, Somesh
Selvachandran, Kenneth Read, Joan Capdevila Pujol, Alexander
Hammers, Tim D Spector, Sebastien Ourselin, Claire J Steves,
Marc Modat, Michael Absoud, Emma L Duncan. Illness duration and
symptom profile in symptomatic UK school- aged children tested
for SARS-CoV-2. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2021; DOI:
10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00198-X ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210804123656.htm

--- up 12 weeks, 5 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)