Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 15;19(10):5993.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19105993.

Clinical and Socio-Demographic Variables Associated with the Diagnosis of Long COVID Syndrome in Youth: A Population-Based Study

Eugene Merzon  1   2 , Margaret Weiss  3 , Beth Krone  4 , Shira Cohen  5 , Gili Ilani  6 , Shlomo Vinker  1   7 , Avivit Cohen-Golan  1   7 , Ilan Green  1   7 , Ariel Israel  1 , Tzipporah Schneider  8 , Shai Ashkenazi  2 , Abraham Weizman  5   6 , Iris Manor  5   6
Affiliations

Clinical and Socio-Demographic Variables Associated with the Diagnosis of Long COVID Syndrome in Youth: A Population-Based Study

Eugene Merzon et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study examines the demographic, clinical and socioeconomic factors associated with diagnosis of long COVID syndrome (LCS). Data of 20,601 COVID-19-positive children aged 5 to 18 years were collected between 2020 and 2021 in an Israeli database. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the adjusted odds ratio for the characteristics of the COVID-19 infection and pre-COVID-19 morbidities. Children with LCS were significantly more likely to have been severely symptomatic, required hospitalization, and experienced recurrent acute infection within 180 days. In addition, children with LCS were significantly more likely to have had ADHD, chronic urticaria, and allergic rhinitis. Diagnosis of LCS is significantly associated with pre-COVID-19 ADHD diagnosis, suggesting clinicians treating ADHD children who become infected with COVID-19 remain vigilant for the possibility of LCS. Although the risk of severe COVID-19 infection and LCS in children is low, further research on possible morbidity related to LCS in children is needed.

Keywords: ADHD; COVID-19; long COVID; morbidity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Aiyegbusi O.L., Hughes S.E., Turner G., Rivera S.C., Mcmullan C., Chandan J.S., Haroon S., Price G., Davies E.H., Nirantharakumar K., et al. Symptoms, complications and management of long COVID: A review. J. R. Soc. Med. 2021;114:428–442. doi: 10.1177/01410768211032850. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bell M.L., Catalfamo C.J., Farland L.V., Ernst K.C., Jacobs E.T., Klimentidis Y.C., Jehn M., Pogreba-Brown K. Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in a non-hospitalized cohort: Results from the Arizona CoVHORT. PLoS ONE. 2021;16:e0254347. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254347. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buitrago-Garcia D., Egli-Gany D., Counotte M.J., Hossmann S., Imeri H., Ipekci A.M., Salanti G., Low N. Occurrence and transmission potential of asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections: A living systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. 2020;17:e1003346. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003346. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Whittaker H.R., Gulea C., Koteci A., Kallis C., Morgan A.D., Iwundu C., Weeks M., Gupta R., Quint J.K. GP consultation rates for sequelae after acute COVID-19 in patients managed in the community or hospital in the UK: Population based study. BMJ Clin. Res. Ed. 2021;375:e065834. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2021-065834. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Datta S.D., Talwar A., Lee J.T. A proposed framework and timeline of the spectrum of disease due to SARS-CoV-2 infection: Illness beyond acute infection and public health implications. JAMA. 2020;324:2251–2252. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.22717. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources