TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term physical, mental and social health effects of COVID-19 in the pediatric population
T2 - a scoping review
AU - Borel, Madeline
AU - Xie, Luyu
AU - Kapera, Olivia
AU - Mihalcea, Adrian
AU - Kahn, Jeffrey
AU - Messiah, Sarah E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - Background: The majority of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptom presentations in adults and children appear to run their course within a couple of weeks. However, a subgroup of adults has started to emerge with effects lasting several months or more after initial infection, which raises questions about the long-term physical, mental and social health effects of COVID-19 in the pediatric population. The purpose of this review was to determine these impacts well into the second year of the pandemic. Methods: A search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Cochrane between 11/1/2019 and 9/1/2021. Search inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) COVID-19 illness and symptoms in children; (2) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in children; (3) English language; and (4) human studies only. Results: The few studies that have documented long-term physical symptoms in children show that fatigue, difficulty in concentrating (brain fog), sleep disturbances, and sensory problems are the most reported outcomes. Most studies examining the impact of COVID-19 in pediatric populations have focused on initial clinical presentation, and symptoms, which are similar to those in adult populations. In addition, COVID-19 has had a moderate impact on children and adolescents’ social environment, which may exacerbate current and future physiological, psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Conclusions: There are limited studies reporting long physical symptoms of COVID-19 in the pediatric population. However, pediatric COVID-19 cases are underreported due to low rates of testing and symptomatic infection, which calls for more longitudinal studies. Children who have experienced COVID-19 illness should be monitored for long physiological, psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes.
AB - Background: The majority of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptom presentations in adults and children appear to run their course within a couple of weeks. However, a subgroup of adults has started to emerge with effects lasting several months or more after initial infection, which raises questions about the long-term physical, mental and social health effects of COVID-19 in the pediatric population. The purpose of this review was to determine these impacts well into the second year of the pandemic. Methods: A search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Cochrane between 11/1/2019 and 9/1/2021. Search inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) COVID-19 illness and symptoms in children; (2) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in children; (3) English language; and (4) human studies only. Results: The few studies that have documented long-term physical symptoms in children show that fatigue, difficulty in concentrating (brain fog), sleep disturbances, and sensory problems are the most reported outcomes. Most studies examining the impact of COVID-19 in pediatric populations have focused on initial clinical presentation, and symptoms, which are similar to those in adult populations. In addition, COVID-19 has had a moderate impact on children and adolescents’ social environment, which may exacerbate current and future physiological, psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Conclusions: There are limited studies reporting long physical symptoms of COVID-19 in the pediatric population. However, pediatric COVID-19 cases are underreported due to low rates of testing and symptomatic infection, which calls for more longitudinal studies. Children who have experienced COVID-19 illness should be monitored for long physiological, psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Children
KW - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
KW - Long-COVID symptoms
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U2 - 10.1007/s12519-022-00515-7
DO - 10.1007/s12519-022-00515-7
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35118594
AN - SCOPUS:85124297773
SN - 1708-8569
VL - 18
SP - 149
EP - 159
JO - World Journal of Pediatrics
JF - World Journal of Pediatrics
IS - 3
ER -