New study estimates how many children will get long Covid
The risk of long Covid in children may be lower than what's seen in adults. A study in JAMA Network Open estimates 5-10% of children may develop long Covid.
An international study estimates the prevalence of long Covid in children to be anywhere from 5% to 10% — a figure that's far lower than estimates of long Covid in more than a third of adults.
The findings, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, also suggested that several factors could predict which children with Covid may have ongoing symptoms or develop new ones in the 90 days following infection.
Those include having seven or more symptoms during the initial phase of illness and hospitalization for more than two days. Age was also a factor: Long-term symptoms were more prevalent in children 14 years and older.
Full coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic
"This identifies those children that we need to stay in closer touch with" as they recover following a positive Covid test, said study co-author Dr. Nathan Kuppermann, a professor in the department of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine.
Rating: 5