A significant part of teenage patients experience long COVID symptoms

In 10 seconds? A national study in England showed adolescents to experience COVID symptoms even 3 months after infection, raising concerns about their overall physical and mental health.

What’s in the study? Researchers collected data from over 6000 adolescents between 11 to 17 years old, of which 45% had tested positive for COVID before. Three months after being infected, a higher percentage of the previously COVID-positive children reported symptoms of tiredness, headache, and shortness of breath (39.0%, 23.2%, and 23.4% respectively). 29.6% of the COVID-positive cohort also reported experiencing more than two or three symptoms, especially in the 15 to 17 age group. Interestingly, those who experienced multiple symptoms of long COVID also had poorer physical and mental health before being infected, leading to worse outcomes post-infection.