tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMC Public Health
. 2024 Feb 1;24(1):344.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17822-5. Acute and persistent symptoms of COVID-19 infection in school-aged children: a retrospective study from China
Honglin Wang[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fangfang Lu[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 [/SUP], Xiuxian Ni[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rijing Luo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Linxiang Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jing Yuan[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Zhen Zhang[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Qiuying Lv[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: The long-term sequelae of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children are unclear. We investigated COVID-19 symptoms in school-aged children to determine their impact on patients and their families.
Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted on February 25-28, 2023, selected a representative kindergarten and 9-year school from Shenzhen, China. There were randomly two classes each for the 12 grades from kindergarten to junior high school. The school-aged children were aged 3-16 years. Literate parents completed an online questionnaire related to their children's COVID-19 symptoms since December 1, 2022. Descriptive statistics were computed as necessary. Univariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed, and variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered to have a significant association with the subjective feeling scores for COVID-19 infection.
Results: We included 936 school-aged children, with a COVID-19 infection rate of 68.5%. The prevalence of LC 28 (illness with symptoms lasting for 28 days) was 3.4%. During acute infection, the median number of the 641 children's symptoms was 3.0 (IQR: 1.0-5.0) and the median score of subjective feelings was 15.0 (IQR: 11.0-24.5). The top three symptoms were fever, cough/expectoration, and rhinobyon. Age of 13-16 years (adjusted beta: 3.60, 95% CI: 0.32-6.88) and comorbidities (adjusted beta: 3.47, 95% CI: 1.20-5.73) were independently associated with higher subjective feelings (p < 0.05). The top three characteristics associated with LC 28 were alopecia (33.3%, 5/15), cognitive dysfunction (29.2%, 7/24), and emotional problem (28.6%, 6/21).
Conclusions: Children with COVID-19 have a short duration of symptoms and milder symptoms, so they can self-medicate to minimize hospital crowding. Children with basic diseases require prompt attention. Although LC 28 is uncommon in children, mental and psychological problems after COVID-19 recovery should not be ignored.
Keywords: COVID-19 infection; Long COVID; SARS-Cov-2; School-aged children; Symptoms.
. 2024 Feb 1;24(1):344.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17822-5. Acute and persistent symptoms of COVID-19 infection in school-aged children: a retrospective study from China
Honglin Wang[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fangfang Lu[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 [/SUP], Xiuxian Ni[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rijing Luo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Linxiang Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jing Yuan[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Zhen Zhang[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Qiuying Lv[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38302946
- PMCID: PMC10835839
- DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-17822-5
Background: The long-term sequelae of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children are unclear. We investigated COVID-19 symptoms in school-aged children to determine their impact on patients and their families.
Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted on February 25-28, 2023, selected a representative kindergarten and 9-year school from Shenzhen, China. There were randomly two classes each for the 12 grades from kindergarten to junior high school. The school-aged children were aged 3-16 years. Literate parents completed an online questionnaire related to their children's COVID-19 symptoms since December 1, 2022. Descriptive statistics were computed as necessary. Univariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed, and variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered to have a significant association with the subjective feeling scores for COVID-19 infection.
Results: We included 936 school-aged children, with a COVID-19 infection rate of 68.5%. The prevalence of LC 28 (illness with symptoms lasting for 28 days) was 3.4%. During acute infection, the median number of the 641 children's symptoms was 3.0 (IQR: 1.0-5.0) and the median score of subjective feelings was 15.0 (IQR: 11.0-24.5). The top three symptoms were fever, cough/expectoration, and rhinobyon. Age of 13-16 years (adjusted beta: 3.60, 95% CI: 0.32-6.88) and comorbidities (adjusted beta: 3.47, 95% CI: 1.20-5.73) were independently associated with higher subjective feelings (p < 0.05). The top three characteristics associated with LC 28 were alopecia (33.3%, 5/15), cognitive dysfunction (29.2%, 7/24), and emotional problem (28.6%, 6/21).
Conclusions: Children with COVID-19 have a short duration of symptoms and milder symptoms, so they can self-medicate to minimize hospital crowding. Children with basic diseases require prompt attention. Although LC 28 is uncommon in children, mental and psychological problems after COVID-19 recovery should not be ignored.
Keywords: COVID-19 infection; Long COVID; SARS-Cov-2; School-aged children; Symptoms.