SARS-CoV-2-attributable long-term outcomes in children in England

Most children and young people who get ‘COVID-19’(caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection) are not very ill.

However, a large number still have symptoms,such as headaches and tiredness, weeks after they had COVID-19, known as‘long-COVID’. Previous studies,and an online discussion group with families affected by long-COVID, have shown that children with long-COVID can be very poorlyand have a number of different symptoms. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which produces guidance to doctors on long-COVID,hasn’t specified what the symptoms of long-COVID are.

It is also unknown which groups of children and young people are most likely toget long-COVID. For example, older children may be more likely to get long-COVID than those younger. Additionally, it is unclear how manychildren and young peoplewith long-COVID are not seen by their GP. As very little is known about long-COVID in children and young people,and it is very difficul tto know how many may be affected, it is difficult for doctors to advise and treat those who are ill with the condition.

Our research project will help answer these questions, and improve our understanding of the long-term impact of COVID-19 in children and young people. We will use two COVID-19 infection studies that collected information on COVID-19 infection andlong-COVID symptoms in schools across England:the School Infection Survey, and in Bristol, the Covid-19 Mapping and Mitigation in Schools (CoMMinS) study. We will use medical records from GP and hospital visits to find out if those whotook part in the study were more likely to become ill after they had COVID-19, compared to those who didn’t get COVID-19, and look to see if they were more likely to be ill for longer. We will see if some children and young people are more likely to become ill than others, for example, older compared to youngerchildren.

Through this work we will be able to help doctors better diagnoselong-COVID in children and young people, and see which groups ofchildren and young people are more likely to get long-COVID. We will also be able to see if some childrenand young people are more likely to see a GP with long-COVID then others.

We want to share our findings with lots of different people, including scientists and doctors, through published articles and the media such as newspapers and online. Information will be produced for families, such as on the most common symptoms of long-COVID, and how many children with long-COVID likely recover within 12 weeks. Families affected by long-COVID will be involved throughout the study, and will be really important in making sure our research helps children and young people with long-COVID.

Amount Awarded: £102,093