Are we mislabelling long covid in children and adolescents?

In their commentary on the Norwegian cohort study by Magnusson, Zimmerman and colleagues point out that what is labelled as “long covid” in many children and adolescents seems to have no clear relation to acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent population studies conducted in Denmark and Germany found that the prevalence and type of symptoms reported during the pandemic were similar in children with and without a recent verified SARS-CoV-2 infection. The first showed that school children without SARS-CoV-2 infection experienced significantly more concentration difficulties, headaches, and muscle and joint pain than their peers with infection. Several other studies have reported that the pandemic has led to a worsening of anxious, depressive, and post-traumatic symptoms in children and adolescents.5 Forced isolation, familial difficulties, concerns for relatives’ and friends’ health, loss of structures of support, and school closures are considered responsible for the increase in mental health problems that we are experiencing. We are not suggesting that everyone who continues to experience symptoms after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection has mental health problems. Nevertheless, we should consider that the pandemic brings a huge burden of emotional distress and suffering to children and adolescents. By uncritically applying a label of long covid, we risk mislabelling patients with mental health problems and, even worse, perpetuating and strengthening symptoms in people predisposed to such problems. Describing new medical conditions and labelling patients should not be considered without risks