Neurological and psychological effects of long COVID in a young population: A cross-sectional study

Cristiana Alessia Guido; Fabio Lucidi; Fabio Midulla; Anna Maria Zicari; Elena Bove; Federica Avenoso; Ilaria Amedeo; Enrica Mancino; Raffaella Nenna; Giovanna De Castro; Martina Capponi; Bianca Laura Cinicola; Giulia Brindisi; Flavia Grisoni; Manuel Murciano; Alberto Spalice; Long-Covid Group of Department of Maternal Sciences

doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.925144

Neurological and psychological effects of long COVID in a young population: A cross-sectional study

Front Neurol. 2022 Aug 17:13:925144. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.925144. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Cristiana Alessia Guido^{1

2}, Fabio Lucidi², Fabio Midulla¹, Anna Maria Zicari¹, Elena Bove¹, Federica Avenoso¹, Ilaria Amedeo¹, Enrica Mancino¹, Raffaella Nenna¹, Giovanna De Castro¹, Martina Capponi¹, Bianca Laura Cinicola¹, Giulia Brindisi¹, Flavia Grisoni¹, Manuel Murciano¹, Alberto Spalice¹; Long-Covid Group of Department of Maternal Sciences

Affiliations

¹ Department of Maternal Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Aim: We evaluated the long-term clinical status of pediatric patients after testing positive for COVID-19. We hypothesized that there are similar symptoms to those that have been described in adults and children and that pediatric patients with neurophysiologic symptoms still present 3-5 months after infection have psychological consequences that interfere with their adaptive functioning.

Method: We recruited 322 COVID-19-positive pediatric patients, between 1.5 and 17 years old, from the outpatient clinic for COVID-19 follow-up. Neurological symptoms were analyzed at onset, after 1 month, and after 3-5 months. A psychological assessment with standardized questionnaires was also conducted to determine the impact of the disease.

Results: At the onset of COVID-19, 60% of the total sample exhibited symptoms; this decreased after 1 month (20%) but stabilized 3-5 months after disease onset (22%). Prevailing long-COVID neurological symptoms were headache, fatigue, and anosmia. In the 1.5-5-year-old subgroup, internalizing problems emerged in 12% of patients. In the 6-18-year-old subgroup, anxiety and post-traumatic stress showed significant associations with neurological symptoms of long COVID.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that long COVID presents various broad-spectrum symptoms, including psychological and long-lasting cognitive issues. If not treated, these symptoms could significantly compromise the quality of life of children and adolescents.

Keywords: CNS (central nervous system); COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019); SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2); adolescents; children; long-COVID syndrome; pediatrics; psychological effects.

Copyright © 2022 Guido, Lucidi, Midulla, Zicari, Bove, Avenoso, Amedeo, Mancino, Nenna, De Castro, Capponi, Cinicola, Brindisi, Grisoni, Murciano, Spalice and the Long-Covid Group of Department of Maternal Sciences.