One in four symptomatic children get long Covid, study finds

One in four children with symptomatic coronavirus develop long Covid, a new study suggests.

A study of over 80,000 children aged under 18 diagnosed with Covid-19 found that 25 per cent of participants developed symptoms that lasted at least four to 12 weeks after the first infection, or developed new, persistent symptoms within 12 weeks.

The meta-analysis included 80,071 young people from Europe, Asia, Australia and South America, and is yet to be peer-reviewed.

In its analysis of 21 other similar studies, the research found over 40 different symptoms of long Covid in adolescents.

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The most common symptoms identified among participants were mood symptoms (16.5 per cent), fatigue (9.6 per cent), sleep disorders (8.4 per cent), headaches (7.8 per cent) and respiratory symptoms (7.6 per cent).

Researchers said that studies have shown the pandemic has affected child development through the impact of isolation, poverty, food insecurity, loss of parents and caregivers, loss of time in education and stress.

Other common symptoms reported in the study included a blocked nose, lack of concentration, poor memory, loss of appetite and altered smell.

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The study also identified risk factors that could worsen long Covid, which included older age, being female, obesity and having other prior illnesses.

While most symptoms improved with time, similar studies with adult participants found that long Covid can persist for up to a year after the initial diagnosis.

The study’s co-author, Sonia Villapol of the Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas, said: "Identifying the main signs and symptoms of paediatric long Covid can help diagnose, develop better treatments, create multidisciplinary teams for optimal clinical management, and find risk factors for prevention."

In January, the Office for National Statistics said that around 1.3 million people in the UK were suffering from long Covid, with the most common symptoms being fatigue, loss of smell and lack of concentration.