Racial/ethnic differences in Long-COVID-associated symptoms among pediatrics population: Findings from difference-in-differences analyses in RECOVER Program
Chen, Y; Zhang, D; Zhang, B; et al., Research Square
Published
March 2024
Journal
Research Square
Abstract
Racial/ethnic differences are associated with the potential symptoms and conditions of post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) in adults. These differences may exist among children and warrant further exploration. We conducted a retrospective cohort study for children and adolescents under the age of 21 from the thirteen institutions in the RECOVER Initiative. The cohort is 225,723 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 diagnosis and 677,448 patients without SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 diagnosis between March 2020 and October 2022. The study compared minor racial/ethnic groups to Non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals, stratified by severity during the acute phase of COVID-19. Within the severe group, Asian American/Pacific Islanders (AAPI) had a higher prevalence of fever/chills and respiratory symptoms, Hispanic patients showed greater hair loss prevalence in severe COVID-19 cases, while Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) patients had fewer skin symptoms in comparison to NHW patients. Within the non-severe group, AAPI patients had increased POTS/dysautonomia and respiratory symptoms, and NHB patients showed more cognitive symptoms than NHW patients. In conclusion, racial/ethnic differences related to COVID-19 exist among specific PASC symptoms and conditions in pediatrics, and these differences are associated with the severity of illness during acute COVID-19.
Authors
Yong Chen, Dazheng Zhang, Bingyu Zhang, Qiong Wu, Ting Zhou, Jiayi Tong, Yiwen Lu, Jiajie Chen, Huiyuan Wang, Deena Chisolm, Ravi Jhaveri, Rachel Kenney, Russel Rothman, Suchitra Rao, David Williams, Mady Hornig, Jeffrey Morris, Christopher Forrest
Keywords
Not available