Research shows that most teenagers recover from a long Covid-19 crisis after two years

According to the largest study of its kind, most teenagers who have suffered from Covid for a long time recover within two years.

But the researchers said more work was needed to understand why some children still had persistent health problems two years after infection.

Led by experts from University College London (UCL), the study examined data from thousands of older children and teenagers. Young people aged 11 to 17 were asked about their health three, six, 12 and 24 months after taking a PCR test for the Covid virus between September 2020 and March 2021.

Of the 12,632 teens and older children who participated in the study, 943 tested positive and provided responses three, six, 12 and 24 months after their original test.

Of these, 233 were deemed to have long Covid-19 status three months after initially testing positive.

After six months, 135 still met the study definition of long Covid, according to the paper published in the journal Nature Communications. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and UK Research and Innovation.

The children and teenagers were defined as having a long Covid-19 period if they had – for at least three months – more than one symptom: fatigue, sleep problems, shortness of breath or headache, in addition to problems with mobility, self-care, doing usual activities, have pain or discomfort, or feel very worried or sad.

After a year, 94 were still considered to have long Covid.

This fell to 68 two years after the first positive test, according to the study, which is the world’s largest “longitudinal cohort study” of long Covid in children.

Experts stressed that this means that 70% of people who suffered from Covid for a long time three months after infection had recovered by two years. But 30% did not. These children reported an average of five to six symptoms each time they reported on their health.

The most common symptoms were fatigue, sleep problems, shortness of breath and headache.

“Our findings show that of teenagers who met our study definition of long Covid-19 three months after testing positive for the Covid virus, the majority have recovered after two years,” said the study’s lead researcher and first author, Prof. Sir Terence Stephenson, from UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

“This is good news, but we plan to conduct further research to better understand why 68 teens had not recovered.”

Older teenagers and the most deprived were more likely to have long Covid-19, experts found.

Girls were more likely than boys to have had Covid for a long time, although the study did not take into account periods and premenstrual syndrome.

The authors also wanted to emphasize that the children tested positive before the Delta and Omicron variants of the virus became dominant, so the findings may not reflect the long-term effects of these variants.

Commenting on the research, Dr Nathan Cheetham from King’s College London said: “This research once again shows that health problems such as long Covid-19 are affecting the most disadvantaged in society, both young and old.

“These results reinforce the need to address the underlying causes of poor health, such as poor housing conditions, financial stress and unequal access to healthcare services, if we are to shift the focus to preventing diseases before inequalities such as those found in this study. to arise.”

Sammie McFarland, from the charity Long Covid Kids, said: “Two years is a long time in a child’s life. While the study reassures us that most participants recovered within this period, the 30% of children and young people still affected highlights that Covid will remain a serious childhood illness and an urgent problem for a long time.

“This underlines the urgent need for effective treatments to alleviate the ongoing burden of this disease. Hormonal factors in the persistence of symptoms require further investigation. While the findings offer hope, they also highlight the need for continued services, research and collaboration, including voices from lived experience, to ensure that no child is left behind.

“Long Covid Kids remains committed to supporting families and advocating for essential resources.”

Dr. Margaret O’Hara, one of the founders of the charity Long Covid Support, said: “The limitations of this study demonstrate the need for new, good quality prospective research into long Covid in children and young people.

“In the fifth year of the pandemic, it is astonishing that the true burden of damage that has been done and continues to be done to our children and young people in Britain has not been firmly established.”