A population-based serological study of post-COVID syndrome prevalence and risk factors in children and adolescents

Roxane Dumont, Viviane Richard, Elsa Lorthe, Andrea Loizeau, Francesco Pennacchio, María-Eugenia Zaballa, Hélène Baysson, Mayssam Nehme, Anne Perrin, Arnaud G. L’Huillier, Laurent Kaiser, Rémy P. Barbe, Klara M. Posfay-Barbe, Silvia Stringhini and Idris Guessous ()
Additional contact information
Roxane Dumont: Geneva University Hospitals
Viviane Richard: Geneva University Hospitals
Elsa Lorthe: Geneva University Hospitals
Andrea Loizeau: Geneva University Hospitals
Francesco Pennacchio: Geneva University Hospitals
María-Eugenia Zaballa: Geneva University Hospitals
Hélène Baysson: Geneva University Hospitals
Mayssam Nehme: University of Geneva
Anne Perrin: Geneva University Hospitals
Arnaud G. L’Huillier: Geneva University Hospitals
Laurent Kaiser: Geneva University Hospitals
Rémy P. Barbe: Geneva University Hospitals
Klara M. Posfay-Barbe: Geneva University Hospitals
Silvia Stringhini: Geneva University Hospitals
Idris Guessous: University of Geneva

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Post-COVID syndrome remains poorly studied in children and adolescents. Here, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of pediatric post-COVID in a population-based sample, stratifying by serological status. Children from the SEROCoV-KIDS cohort study (State of Geneva, Switzerland), aged 6 months to 17 years, were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 N antibodies (December 2021-February 2022) and parents filled in a questionnaire on persistent symptoms in their children (lasting over 12 weeks) compatible with post-COVID. Of 1034 children tested, 570 (55.1%) were seropositive. The sex- and age-adjusted prevalence of persistent symptoms among seropositive children was 9.1% (95%CI: 6.7;11.8) and 5.0% (95%CI: 3.0;7.1) among seronegatives, with an adjusted prevalence difference (ΔaPrev) of 4.1% (95%CI: 1.1;7.3). Stratifying per age group, only adolescents displayed a substantial risk of having post-COVID symptoms (ΔaPrev = 8.3%, 95%CI: 3.5;13.5). Identified risk factors for post-COVID syndrome were older age, having a lower socioeconomic status and suffering from chronic health conditions, especially asthma. Our findings show that a significant proportion of seropositive children, particularly adolescents, experienced persistent COVID symptoms. While there is a need for further investigations, growing evidence of pediatric post-COVID urges early screening and primary care management.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34616-8 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-34616-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34616-8

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().