Some patients who have passed the coronavirus continue to experience some of the symptoms of the disease after overcoming it, this is what is known as persistent or prolonged COVID-19. A study from the Copenhagen University Hospital has found that this problem in children infected with SARS-CoV-2 could last for more than two months.
This is the largest study to date on how and to what extent persistent COVID affects children up to the age of 14, the more than 11,000 participants were children in Denmark who had tested positive for the coronavirus and were compared with a control group of 33,000 children of the same age but who were healthy.
The purpose of this research, as explained by the authors, was to determine the prevalence of 23 persistent symptoms of COVID in infants and children, in addition to qualifying, through questionnaires filled out by their parents, the quality of life and absence from school classes. school or nursery.
Symptoms of Persistent COVID in Infants and Children
The results, which have been published in The Lancet, revealed that the most common symptoms of persistent COVID among children up to 3 years old were skin rashes, mood swings and stomach pains. In the next group, from 4 to 11 years old, skin rashes and mood swings also stood out, and others such as fatigue and difficulty remembering or concentrating were added.
Children who have had COVID-19 have fewer psychological and social problems than those who have not, this could be because they are more aware of the pandemic
Lastly, adolescents between the ages of 12 and 14 presented mood swings, fatigue, and problems remembering and concentrating as long-term consequences of having experienced COVID-19. Furthermore, they found that 40% of infants up to age 3 who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 had persistent symptoms for more than two months, compared to 27% of those in the control group.
In children between 4 and 11 years of age, the proportion of symptoms that lasted more than two months was 38% in those infected compared to 34% of controls, and for the age group of 12 to 14 years, 46% compared to 41% of the healthy. And it is that, some symptoms such as fatigue, mood swings or abdominal pain, in addition to being symptoms of prolonged COVID, are also symptoms of common ailments not related to the coronavirus.
However, this study highlights that children who pass COVID-19 have a higher risk of presenting these symptoms and for a longer time, although they were also surprised to discover that infected children had fewer psychological and social problems than those who belonged to the group of control and that they were healthy.
A possible explanation for this result could be that older children might have higher pandemic awareness and that children in the control group experience greater fear of the unknown disease and more restricted daily life as a consequence of being vigilant about protecting themselves. so as not to get the virus.
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