Science and Research

Post-coronavirus disease 2019-associated symptoms among children and adolescents in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron era

PURPOSE: Lack of a control group(s) and selection bias were the main criticisms of previous studies investigating the prevalence of post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome (PCS). There are insufficient data regarding paediatric PCS, particularly in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron era. As such, our study investigated PCS-associated symptoms in a representative control-matched cohort. METHODS: This multicentre, cross-sectional, cohort study within the "Immunebridge" project of the German Network University Medicine (NUM) recruited children and adolescents (five to 17 years old) between July and October 2022. Children with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2022 (COVID-19 group) were compared with those without history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Queries included vaccinations, quality of life (QoL), and mental and physical symptoms potentially associated with PCS in the previous three months. An additional composite item, "physical performance", was created from the responses. RESULTS: The number of children with 

  • Schlegtendal, A.
  • Maier, C.
  • Stein, J.
  • Höpner, J.
  • Petersmann, A.
  • Drinka, D.
  • Berner, R.
  • Lücke, T.
  • Toepfner, N.
  • Brinkmann, F.

Keywords

  • Humans
  • *COVID-19/epidemiology/diagnosis/complications
  • Child
  • Adolescent
  • Male
  • Female
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • *Quality of Life
  • Child, Preschool
  • *SARS-CoV-2
  • *Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
  • Germany/epidemiology
  • Cohort Studies
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Children and adolescents
  • Long COVID
  • Omicron
  • Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS)
  • SARS-CoV-2
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s00431-024-05919-3
Journal: Eur J Pediatr
Pages: 96 
Number: 1
Work Type: Original
Location: Assoziierter Partner, ARCN
Disease Area: PALI
Partner / Member: UKSH (Lübeck), UzL
Access-Number: 39707044

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