46% CHILDREN SUFFER FROM LONG-COVID POST INFECTION, SAYS LANCET STUDY
NEW DELHI: Nearly 46% children can, like adults, suffer from so-called long-Covid for at least two months after the infection, according to the largest study of long-Covid symptoms in children aged 0-14 years published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health on Wednesday.
The researchers used national level sampling of children in Denmark and matched Covid positive cases with a control group of children with no prior history of the infection.
In the 0-3 years age group 40% of children diagnosed with Covid (478 of 1,194 children) experienced symptoms for longer than two months; in the 4-11 age group, this proportion was 38%; and in the 12-14 group, it rose to 46%.
“The overall aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of long-lasting symptoms in children and infants, alongside quality of life, and absence from school or day care,” said Selina Kikkenborg Berg, professor, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, in a statement.
The surveys asked participants about the 23 most common symptoms of long-Covid in children, and used the World Health Organization definition of long-Covid as symptoms lasting more than two months.
The most commonly reported symptoms among children 0-3 years old were mood swings, rashes, and stomach aches. Among 4-11 years old the most commonly reported symptoms were mood swings, trouble remembering or concentrating, and rashes, and among 12-14 years old, they were fatigue, mood swings, and trouble remembering or concentrating.
However, experts still maintain that the disease in children largely is mild.