Clinical and Socio-Demographic Variables Associated with the Diagnosis of Long COVID Syndrome in Youth: A Population-Based Study
Eugene Merzon, Margaret D. Weiss, Beth Krone, Shira Cohen, Gili Ilani, Shlomo Vinker, Avivit Cohen-Golan, Ilan Green, Ariel Israel, Tzipporah Schneider, Shai Ashkenazi, Abraham Weizman, Iris Manor
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.