Children and teens are more affected by the coronavirus than previously thought, even if they don’t have severe symptoms.
A study that underestimated the impact of coronavirus on children has been retracted, but many people still believe the virus does not harm children.
Studies have shown possible health problems ranging from stomach problems to brain fog, chronic pain, extreme fatigue, and even possible type 2 diabetes.
Although children are less likely to develop severe acute illness from COVID-19, there is evidence that even seemingly mild symptoms have lasting effects affecting millions of children and teens. It’s increasing. A recent JAMA study found that between 1 in 5 and 1 in 10 children with infectious diseases (including both asymptomatic and severe cases) have long-term symptoms of COVID-19.
That number is a whopping 6 million American children. And research suggests that repeated infections increase the risk. However, symptoms can last for more than three years.
A study of adolescents recently published in JAMA found that long-term effects can be felt just weeks or months after contracting COVID-19 and “affect all organ systems. “It has an impact.”
A study published this month found that children infected with COVID-19 were more likely to develop type 2 infection within six months of contracting COVID-19 than children with other respiratory illnesses. The study was published in JAMA Network Open, showing a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes.
Symptoms must last at least three months to be considered a long-term coronavirus. They can be physical, cognitive, or psychological, said Dr. K., assistant professor of pediatrics at Utah Health University and director of the Evidence-Based Program for Pediatric Autonomic Unexplained Symptoms at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. Deputy Director Dr. Kirti Shivakoti told the Deseret News. She said the “numerous symptoms” could include dizziness, headaches, brain fog, extreme fatigue and different types of pain.
She added that there are many similarities between long-term COVID-19 infection and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Often referred to simply as POTS, this condition is an autonomic nervous system problem that causes your heart rate to increase abnormally quickly when you sit or stand. It may cause light-headedness, fainting, palpitations, fatigue, headache, nausea, and sleep disturbances.
For children, she said, the long-term effects of COVID-19 are often seen as school absences and young people’s inability to achieve previously high academic performance.
While it remains a mystery why some young people are more susceptible than others, Sivakoti believes that external, behavioral, environmental and genetic factors contribute. He said there is evidence to suggest that.
false sense of security
A recent essay published in Scientific American by Blake Murdoch explains some of the misconceptions and underestimation of the impact of COVID-19 on children, stating, “With the help of scientists, ” he pointed out. In 2023, the American Medical Association’s Journal of Pediatrics published a study that found the rate of long-term symptoms of COVID-19 in children to be “alarmingly low” at just 0.4%, but the study was later retracted. Ta. The results were widely reported as feel-good news and helped rationalize the current situation where children are repeatedly exposed to SARS-COV-2 in poorly ventilated schools and parents believe they are not seriously affected. Ta. ”
Murdoch is a health policy expert, bioethicist, lawyer, and science communicator at the University of Alberta Health Law Institute, with a particular focus on “the disconnect between scientific evidence, ethical principles, and policy.”
The belief that the coronavirus has little effect on children means people may not be taking appropriate precautions to reduce their risk of infection. And it often takes time to reach a diagnosis, even after other causes of symptoms have been ruled out. It can lead to significant loss of function. Sivakoti said early diagnosis and treatment are key to preventing long-term decline and improving quality of life.
Research adds to list of health issues
A growing body of research is linking COVID-19 infections and lingering health problems in children.
A JAMA study by researchers at Rutgers University and the National Institutes of Health found that long-term symptoms of COVID-19 in children are “clear, widespread, and widespread,” as stated in a Rutgers release. It was found that the range was wide and clinically different within specific age groups.
Lawrence C. Kleinman, a population health expert and professor of pediatrics at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine and third co-author of the study, said, “There is compelling evidence that this is not a mild, benign disease.” . “There are children who have clearly been disabled by long-term COVID-19 infections.”
The study involved 140 researchers and approximately 5,400 children and adolescents across the United States. Of these, approximately 86% were infected with the new coronavirus infection. The study focused on 74 known conditions across nine areas: eyes, ears, nose and throat, heart and lungs, gastrointestinal, skin, musculoskeletal, neurological, behavioral psychology and general, Rutgers said. .
Forty-five percent of infected children ages 6 to 11 reported experiencing one or more long-term symptoms after overcoming active infection. So did 39% of 12- to 17-year-olds who contracted the coronavirus, both numbers significantly higher than uninfected children. For adolescents, the most common symptoms are loss of taste and smell, followed by low energy, muscle pain and fatigue, according to the study. In the younger group, memory and concentration were the main problems, followed by abdominal pain, headaches, and back and neck pain.
Questions have been raised about how researchers know that the symptoms are a persistent effect of the coronavirus rather than some other illness. A recent study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine found that to confirm that symptoms can be caused by the coronavirus, a detailed medical evaluation and “other symptoms such as blood sugar, anemia, and other infections” are needed. Significant efforts were made to rule out other causes by carefully ruling out potential causes of . As reported by Medical and Life Science News.
The study found that, among other issues, COVID-19 infection increases the risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and celiac disease.
The study linking COVID-19 infection to increased risk of developing diabetes used records from 600,000 children aged 10 to 19, half of whom had a new coronavirus infection in 2020, 2021, or 2022. They had a history of coronavirus infection, and half had a history of other respiratory infections, including influenza. . Lead author Pauline Terreboux, an epidemiologist at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, told the Post that this was “a huge spike.” If a child is diagnosed with diabetes, they will live with the chronic disease for a long time. ”
Researchers said further investigation is needed into what causes the relationship. The paper noted that “there is debate among scientists about the extent to which type 2 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.”
This study does not suggest that all children infected with coronavirus will develop diabetes. And while doctors at Intermountain Primary Clinic have not seen diabetes related to COVID-19, Sivakoti said, “we have seen a lot of long-term COVID-19 infections.” She notes that there is significant overlap in conditions treated in different departments, such as POTS, dysautonomia, and chronic pain.
Managing long tail symptoms
“Honestly, there’s so much overlap in all three that we’ve almost merged them into one, especially in the case of long-term COVID, whether it’s physically, cognitively, mentally; This range, a large number of symptoms, persist for a long time post-corona. Chronicity is the key factor here,” Sivakoti said.
The fatigue that young people experience is not the kind of fatigue that comes from working 16 hours a day, coming home exhausted, and feeling refreshed after 10 hours of sleep. “This is a type of fatigue that does not improve with rest, and patients are extremely tired to even go to school.As a result, school absenteeism rates are very high, they miss school, and they miss out on their academic potential. “It’s costing families a lot of money,” she said.
Some patients complain of abdominal pain, joint pain, and respiratory symptoms. “I think it can affect everything,” she said, adding that it can be a long road from diagnosis to returning to function and quality of life. Sivakoti said it is important to get a diagnosis and start treating the symptoms because it doesn’t take long for function to deteriorate significantly.
Studies have shown that vaccination not only reduces the risk of contracting the coronavirus, but also reduces the risk of developing long-term symptoms.
Fortunately, long-lasting coronavirus symptoms will lessen over time, Sivakoti said. However, in many cases, children are already missing out on education and development. She is a fan of prevention, so for a long time she has ensured that the coronavirus does not affect them at all.
