Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
Government policies and media messaging really hurt kids.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(22)00154-7/fulltext
Long COVID symptoms in SARS-CoV-2-positive children aged 0–14 years and matched controls in Denmark (LongCOVIDKidsDK): a national, cross-sectional study
...
Our analyses of quality of life showed several differences between cases and controls that were statistically significant. However, when evaluating those scores using Hedges' g,[SUP]23 [/SUP]only the differences in emotional and social outcomes in favour of cases among the oldest groups were clinically relevant. This finding is also consistent with findings in adolescents.[SUP]14[/SUP]
Possible explanations for the higher scores in cases versus controls could include increasing awareness about the pandemic (which might scare children who have not yet had the infection), the importance of contact with peers versus family, and the difficulties of lockdown and social restrictions in the oldest groups, which might affect quality of life in the overall population. The short-lasting symptom scores on the CSSI-24 were generally lower in the case group and highest for the oldest group.
Notably, controls generally had worse scores in the validated generic questionnaires for psychological outcomes. The demographic and clinical profiles are not completely identical between the groups, which could be one possible explanation for the difference. It could also be that the controls experienced fear of the unknown disease and had a more restricted everyday life because of protecting themselves from catching the virus. Pandemic symptoms in children have been suggested[SUP]1[/SUP]
and might be caused by poor thriving from lockdown and social restrictions. A systematic review including 6743 participants revealed no or mild long-term anxiety and depression during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemics. The authors concluded that the global increase in mental health sequelae was more likely due to psychosocial factors related to lockdown, quarantine, and interrupted everyday life than to long-term effects of the virus.[SUP]28...[/SUP]
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/23/health/little-kids-long-covid
...
Dr. Michael Absoud, a pediatrician who specializes in neurodevelopmental issues who did not work on the study, told the Science Media Center in the UK that he found that fact intriguing.
"The most striking finding of this study is the higher quality of life and lower anxiety scores in older children who had tested positive for Covid-19. This provides further confirmation, that although mercifully children are resilient to the direct impacts of Covid, they have been significantly impacted by the indirect impacts of the pandemic (school closures, repeated quarantines, and reduced therapies) and anxiety inducing media messaging. It is likely that society has under-estimated longer term impact of the pandemic disruption rather than the virus on all children, and the urgent need for recovery of health and wellbeing services," Absoud said.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(22)00154-7/fulltext
Long COVID symptoms in SARS-CoV-2-positive children aged 0–14 years and matched controls in Denmark (LongCOVIDKidsDK): a national, cross-sectional study
- Prof Selina Kikkenborg Berg, PhD
- Pernille Palm, PhD
- Ulrikka Nygaard, PhD
- Prof Henning Bundgaard, DMSc
- Maria Nivi Schmidt Petersen, MSc
- Siri Rosenkilde, MSc
- et al.
- Show all authors
...
Our analyses of quality of life showed several differences between cases and controls that were statistically significant. However, when evaluating those scores using Hedges' g,[SUP]23 [/SUP]only the differences in emotional and social outcomes in favour of cases among the oldest groups were clinically relevant. This finding is also consistent with findings in adolescents.[SUP]14[/SUP]
Possible explanations for the higher scores in cases versus controls could include increasing awareness about the pandemic (which might scare children who have not yet had the infection), the importance of contact with peers versus family, and the difficulties of lockdown and social restrictions in the oldest groups, which might affect quality of life in the overall population. The short-lasting symptom scores on the CSSI-24 were generally lower in the case group and highest for the oldest group.
Notably, controls generally had worse scores in the validated generic questionnaires for psychological outcomes. The demographic and clinical profiles are not completely identical between the groups, which could be one possible explanation for the difference. It could also be that the controls experienced fear of the unknown disease and had a more restricted everyday life because of protecting themselves from catching the virus. Pandemic symptoms in children have been suggested[SUP]1[/SUP]
and might be caused by poor thriving from lockdown and social restrictions. A systematic review including 6743 participants revealed no or mild long-term anxiety and depression during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemics. The authors concluded that the global increase in mental health sequelae was more likely due to psychosocial factors related to lockdown, quarantine, and interrupted everyday life than to long-term effects of the virus.[SUP]28...[/SUP]
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/23/health/little-kids-long-covid
...
Dr. Michael Absoud, a pediatrician who specializes in neurodevelopmental issues who did not work on the study, told the Science Media Center in the UK that he found that fact intriguing.
"The most striking finding of this study is the higher quality of life and lower anxiety scores in older children who had tested positive for Covid-19. This provides further confirmation, that although mercifully children are resilient to the direct impacts of Covid, they have been significantly impacted by the indirect impacts of the pandemic (school closures, repeated quarantines, and reduced therapies) and anxiety inducing media messaging. It is likely that society has under-estimated longer term impact of the pandemic disruption rather than the virus on all children, and the urgent need for recovery of health and wellbeing services," Absoud said.