By IDSE News Staff
While most children and teenagers recover from COVID-19 within a few days or weeks, some experience longer lasting effects. Symptoms of long COVID can include headaches, loss of taste?and?smell, diarrhea, chronic pain, rashes, brain fog, and?dizziness, but can also include more serious health conditions like heart issues and diabetes, according to a research review (Pediatrics 2024 Feb 7. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-062570).
The authors reviewed relevant pediatric studies to summarize research about long COVID. They estimated that long COVID affects up to 5.8 million young people, given infection and long-COVID rates (10%-20%). Long COVID can develop in those with asymptomatic infection, but a study found it was much less common. Respiratory symptoms including cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath—which can exacerbate asthma and other respiratory conditions—along with fatigue are some of the common symptoms in children.?
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)?is the most serious complication of COVID-19 and can be deadly. MIS-C can develop in two to six weeks after initial infection. Those most at risk are boys, ages 6-12 years, those of African American or Hispanic background, and those with obesity. Symptoms can include fever, chest pain, nausea, abdominal pain and/or vomiting. Cardiac complications of COVID-19 include myocarditis, MIS-C and arrhythmias.
Studies also have reported an increase in the incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, along with an increase in life-threatening complications of diabetes, in children and adolescents at least 30 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection. A U.S. study found a 72% increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the first six months after infection. While most young people with long COVID recover over several months, about one-third have symptoms at 12 months after COVID-19, and the study authors found few studies examined long COVID in children after a year, indicating the need for continued research.?
