Long COVID symptoms in Israeli children with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Objectives To estimate the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with and without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to evaluate factors associated with long COVID. Design A nationwide cross-sectional study. Setting Primary care. Participants 3240 parents of children aged 5–18 with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection completed an online questionnaire (11.9% response rate); 1148 and 2092 with/without a history of infection, respectively. Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcome was the prevalence of long COVID symptoms in children with/without a history of infection. Secondary outcomes were the factors associated with the presence of long COVID symptoms and with failure to return to baseline health status in children with a history of infection including gender, age, time from illness, symptomatic illness and vaccine status. Results Most long COVID symptoms were more prevalent in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection: headaches (211 (18.4%) vs 114 (5.4%), p<0.001), weakness (173 (15.1%) vs 70 (3.3%), p<0.001), fatigue (141 (12.3%) vs 133 (6.4%), p<0.001) and abdominal pain (109 (9.5%) vs 79 (3.8%), p<0.001). Most long COVID symptoms in children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection were more prevalent in the older age group (12–18) compared with the younger age group (5–11). Some symptoms were more prevalent in children without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including attention problems with school malfunctioning (225 (10.8%) vs 98 (8.5%),…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 3,240 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Sarcopenia, sarcopenic overweight/obesity and risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiac arrhythmia: A cross-sectional study
- Workplace Violence Is Associated With Impaired Work Functioning in Nurses: An Italian Cross-Sectional Study
- Vagus Nerve Dysfunction in the Post-COVID-19 Condition: a pilot cross sectional study
- Association Between Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study from NHANES 2017–2018
- Efficacy and safety of solifenacin succinate 10 mg once Daily: A multicenter, phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial in patients with overactive bladder
- Association between triglyceride glucose‐body mass index and hypertension in Chinese adults: A cross‐sectional study
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.