Post-COVID-19 condition and persisting symptoms in English schoolchildren: repeated surveys to March 2022

Abstract

Background Both post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) and the presence of persisting symptoms that do not meet formal definitions of post-COVID-19-condition may adversely affect quality of life and function. However, their prevalence among children and young people in England is unclear. Methods We used data from repeated surveys in a large cohort of English schoolchildren from the COVID-19 Schools Infection Survey (SIS) for the school year 2021/22 to describe the weighted prevalence of post-COVID-19-condition and compare persisting symptoms between individuals with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and those with neither a positive test history nor suspected infection. Results Among 7797 children from 173 schools, 1.8% of primary school pupils (aged 4 to 11 years), 4.5% of secondary school pupils in years 7–11 (aged 11 to 16 years) and 6.9% of those in years 12–13 (aged 16 to 18 years) met a definition of post-COVID-19 condition in March 2022. Specific persisting symptoms such as anxiety or difficulty concentrating were frequently reported regardless of prior infection status and increased with age: 48.0% of primary school pupils, 52.9% of secondary school pupils in years 7–11 and 79.5% in years 12–13 reporting at least one symptom lasting more than 12 weeks. Persisting loss of smell and taste, cardiovascular and some systemic symptoms were more frequently reported by those with a previous positive test. Conclusions We showed that ongoing symptoms were frequently reported by English schoolchildren regardless of SARS-CoV-2 test results and some specific symptoms such as loss of smell and taste were more prevalent in those with a positive test history. Our study emphasises the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Acute and long-term outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school-aged children in England: Study protocol for the joint analysis of the COVID-19 schools infection survey (SIS) and the COVID-19 mapping and mitigation in schools (CoMMinS) study

“…Due to the historic nature of the surveys, research data on more recent variants will not be available for analysis. However, it is important to understand the dynamics of earlier variants as there are implications for current infections, and especially for the long-term health of CYP who are still affected by infection earlier on in the pandemic [ 10 ].…”

“…Furthermore, it remains crucial to understand whether those CYP with acute symptomatic infection are at higher risk of subsequent long-term health effects, referred to as long-COVID. Estimates of the percentage of CYP with long-COVID following infection range from 3–14% [ 1 , 4 , 9 , 10 ]. Previous studies have tended to only include CYP with a diagnosed/symptomatic infection, which may unavoidably bias estimates of the risk of long-COVID [ 1 ].…”

Impact of Long SARS-CoV-2 Omicron on Health Care Burden: A Case-control Comparative Study with the Pre-Omicron Waves (Preprint)

“…This data was corroborated by a report from the UK, where persistent symptoms were frequently observed in English schoolchildren, regardless of their SARS-CoV-2 test results. Additionally, certain specific symptoms, such as loss of smell and taste, were more commonly reported among those with a positive test history [38]. Furthermore, specific to youths, some studies underscored that symptomatology can vary depending on the viral variant.…”

SARS-CoV-2 Reinfections and Long COVID in the Post-Omicron Phase of the Pandemic

“…In a recent study that evaluated long-term outcomes in 12,424 pediatric COVID survivors, the pooled prevalence of long-term symptoms was 23.36% and declined over time to ~15% at one year [ 95 ]. A survey among British school children showed that they often reported different symptoms regardless of their SARS-CoV-2 test results; however, some symptoms, for instance loss of taste and/or smell, were more common in those with a previous infection [ 96 ].…”