Rome, Europe Brief News – Even the littlest children can experience long COVID, according to a large study.
The study published in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health included 44,000 children in Denmark ranging in ages zero through 14 years old.
Of the children, 11,000 had tested positive for COVID-19 between January 2020 and July 2021.
While symptoms associated with long COVID are general ailments children can experience even without COVID — headaches, mood swings, stomach problems and tiredness — the children in the study who had previously tested positive for COVID were more likely to experience at least one symptom for two months or more than the children who never tested positive for COVID.
The study also revealed that a third of children who had tested positive for COVID experienced at least one long-term symptom that was not present before testing positive.
The most common symptoms varied by age. For children up through age three, it was mood swings, rashes and stomach aches.
Children four to 11 years old also experienced memory and concentration problems. For the 12- to 14-year-olds, it was memory and concentration issues, mood swings and fatigue.
Children three and under seemed to have the most problems compared with those children not diagnosed with COVID-19 — 40% experienced symptoms two months after testing positive compared with the 27% in the group that did not have Covid.
“Our findings align with previous studies of long COVID and adolescents showing that although the chances of children experiencing long Covid is low especially compared to group to the control group, it must be recognized and treated seriously,” said study co-author Selina Kikkenborg Berg, a professor of cardiology at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark.