Suffering from Long Covid? CDC study suggests shocking facts

COVID might have taken a leave; the after-effects of the same haven’t.
New federal data reveals a worrisome truth; that, more than 1 million children may have been affected by long COVID in 2023.

Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months, or years and are often debilitating.
The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.
Long COVID occurs when patients still have symptoms at least three months after clearing infection and has been well-documented in adults, but its impact on children has been less clear.

Researchers from two divisions within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at results from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey, a nationwide survey that monitors the health of the U.S. population.
One child aged 17 or under was randomly selected from each sample household within the survey, and parents responded to questions about whether their child had previous COVID-19 illness - if the child had symptoms lasting three months or longer, and if the child still had those symptoms at the time of interview.
Results of the analysis, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, showed approximately 1.01 million children, or 1.4%, are believed to have ever experienced long COVID in 2023 and about 293,000, or 0.4%, were experiencing the condition when the survey was being conducted.

According to the authors, this is similar to the 1.3%, or about 1 million, of children ever estimated to have had long COVID in 2022.
Children aged 12-17 were most likely to have ever experienced long COVID or to still have the condition. Long COVID prevalence was also higher among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white children compared to non-Hispanic Black and Asian children.
Long COVID was also most common among children with a family income of under $100,000 and of parents with an education level of an associate's degree or less.
Among children currently experiencing long COVID at the time of the interview, 80% reported having some level of activity limitation compared with before they had COVID-19.
As per the authors, "The large proportion of children experiencing [long COVID] with any activity limitation highlights the need to examine the severity of activity limitation, functional outcomes, and days lost from school." The authors also mentioned that there may be an under-reporting of long COVID in younger children due to difficulty with the verbalization of their symptoms.

Long COVID is characterized by a large number of symptoms that sometimes disappear and then reappear. Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder. Several other symptoms, including headaches, mental health issues, the initial loss of smell or taste, muscle weakness, fever, and cognitive dysfunction may also present. Symptoms often get worse after mental or physical effort, a process called post-exertional malaise. There is a large overlap in symptoms with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
As per the CDC, long COVID most often occurs in people who have severe illness, but anyone can develop the condition. The agency claims that people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are at higher risk of developing long COVID. Scientists are not sure what causes long COVID but have identified risk factors including having underlying conditions.
Research has also found that patients with long COVID tend to have lower cortisol levels and lower testosterone levels. Another theory is that virus particles may be persistently active, causing people to suffer long-term symptoms.
The causes of long COVID are not yet fully understood. Hypotheses include lasting damage to organs and blood vessels, problems with blood clotting, neurological dysfunction, persistent virus or reactivation of latent viruses, and autoimmunity. Diagnosis of long COVID is based on (suspected or confirmed) COVID-19 infection or symptoms—and by excluding alternative diagnoses.

As of 2024, the prevalence of long COVID is estimated to be about 6–7% in adults and about 1% in children. Globally, over 400 million people have experienced long COVID.

As of 2023, there are no established effective treatments for long COVID, rendering it potentially terminal. People with long COVID may need care within several clinical disciplines for long-term monitoring or intervention of ongoing symptoms, and to implement social services, physical therapy, or mental health care.
Management of long COVID mostly depends on symptoms.
Rest, planning, and prioritizing are advised for people with fatigue. People who get post-exertional malaise may benefit from activity management with pacing. People with allergic-type symptoms, such as skin rashes, may benefit from antihistamines.
Those with autonomic dysfunction may benefit from an increased intake of fluids, electrolytes, and compression garments.