Long COVID symptoms in SARS-CoV-2-positive children aged 0–14 years and matched controls in Denmark (LongCOVIDKidsDK): a national, cross-sectional study
Abstract
Background After the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, children can develop long COVID symptoms. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of long-lasting symptoms, the duration and intensity of symptoms, quality of life, number of sick days and absences from daycare or school, and psychological and social outcomes in children aged 0–14 years who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 relative to controls with no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted including children with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2-positive PCR test (cases) and matched controls from Danish national registers. A survey was sent to mothers (proxy reporting) of children aged 0–14 years who had had a positive SARS-CoV-2 test between Jan 1, 2020, and July 12, 2021, and a control group matched (1:4) by age and sex. The survey included the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Children's Somatic Symptoms Inventory-24 (CSSI-24) to capture current overall health and wellbeing, and ancillary questions about the 23 most common long COVID symptoms. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used. Clinically relevant differences were defined as those with a Hedges' g score greater than 0·2. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04786353). Findings Responses to the survey were received from 10 997 (28·8%) of 38 152 cases and 33 016 (22·4%) of 147 212 controls between July 20, 2021, and Sept 15, 2021. Median age was 10·2 years (IQR…
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