Clinical and socio-demographic variables associated with the diagnosis of Long Covid syndrome in youth: A population-based study (15 May 2022)

Summary

This study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health examines the demographic, clinical and socioeconomic factors associated with diagnosis of Long Covid in children aged 5 to 18 years. The authors conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using data from 20,601 children living in Israel who tested positive for Covid between 1 February 2020 and 30 June 2021.

They found several variables associated with the development of Long Covid, including:

• the severity of acute infection
• being hospitalised
• recurrent acute infection
• ADHD diagnosis
• chronic allergic rhinitis
• chronic urticaria.

The authors call for heightened clinical awareness that Long Covid can be present in children, and highlight that this should affect public health policy because of Covid-19's long-term health impacts.