SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review
Objectives Infections by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) might affect children and adolescents differently than earlier viral lineages. We aimed to address five questions about SARS-CoV-2 VOC infections in children and adolescents: (1) symptoms and severity, (2) risk factors for severe disease...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-10-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/10/e072280.full |
| _version_ | 1797640430238564352 |
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| author | Nicola Low Leonie Heron Myrofora Goutaki Yin Ting Lam Arnaud G L'Huillier Margarethe Wiedenmann Aziz Mert Ipekci Lucia Araujo-Chaveron Nirmala Prajapati Muhammad Irfanul Alam Ivan Zhelyazkov |
| author_facet | Nicola Low Leonie Heron Myrofora Goutaki Yin Ting Lam Arnaud G L'Huillier Margarethe Wiedenmann Aziz Mert Ipekci Lucia Araujo-Chaveron Nirmala Prajapati Muhammad Irfanul Alam Ivan Zhelyazkov |
| author_sort | Nicola Low |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives Infections by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) might affect children and adolescents differently than earlier viral lineages. We aimed to address five questions about SARS-CoV-2 VOC infections in children and adolescents: (1) symptoms and severity, (2) risk factors for severe disease, (3) the risk of infection, (4) the risk of transmission and (5) long-term consequences following a VOC infection.Design Systematic review.Data sources The COVID-19 Open Access Project database was searched up to 1 March 2022 and PubMed was searched up to 9 May 2022.Eligibility criteria We included observational studies about Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron VOCs among ≤18-year-olds. We included studies in English, German, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Turkish.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers extracted and verified the data and assessed the risk of bias. We descriptively synthesised the data and assessed the risks of bias at the outcome level.Results We included 53 articles. Most children with any VOC infection presented with mild disease, with more severe disease being described with the Delta or the Gamma VOC. Diabetes and obesity were reported as risk factors for severe disease during the whole pandemic period. The risk of becoming infected with a SARS-CoV-2 VOC seemed to increase with age, while in daycare settings the risk of onward transmission of VOCs was higher for younger than older children or partially vaccinated adults. Long-term symptoms following an infection with a VOC were described in <5% of children and adolescents.Conclusion Overall patterns of SARS-CoV-2 VOC infections in children and adolescents are similar to those of earlier lineages. Comparisons between different pandemic periods, countries and age groups should be improved with complete reporting of relevant contextual factors, including VOCs, vaccination status of study participants and the risk of exposure of the population to SARS-CoV-2.PROSPERO registration number CRD42022295207. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:31:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b9f5e028c1b84b2f82483be4fea6ee68 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:31:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-b9f5e028c1b84b2f82483be4fea6ee682023-11-02T19:45:07ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552023-10-01131010.1136/bmjopen-2023-072280SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic reviewNicola Low0Leonie Heron1Myrofora Goutaki2Yin Ting Lam3Arnaud G L'Huillier4Margarethe Wiedenmann5Aziz Mert Ipekci6Lucia Araujo-Chaveron7Nirmala Prajapati8Muhammad Irfanul Alam9Ivan Zhelyazkov10Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDépartement de pédiatrie, gynécologie et obstétrique, HUG, Geneve, SwitzerlandMedical Service Unit, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, SwitzerlandInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandEHESP French School of Public Health, Rennes, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceEHESP Rennes-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Rennes, FranceThe University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UKObjectives Infections by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) might affect children and adolescents differently than earlier viral lineages. We aimed to address five questions about SARS-CoV-2 VOC infections in children and adolescents: (1) symptoms and severity, (2) risk factors for severe disease, (3) the risk of infection, (4) the risk of transmission and (5) long-term consequences following a VOC infection.Design Systematic review.Data sources The COVID-19 Open Access Project database was searched up to 1 March 2022 and PubMed was searched up to 9 May 2022.Eligibility criteria We included observational studies about Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron VOCs among ≤18-year-olds. We included studies in English, German, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Turkish.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers extracted and verified the data and assessed the risk of bias. We descriptively synthesised the data and assessed the risks of bias at the outcome level.Results We included 53 articles. Most children with any VOC infection presented with mild disease, with more severe disease being described with the Delta or the Gamma VOC. Diabetes and obesity were reported as risk factors for severe disease during the whole pandemic period. The risk of becoming infected with a SARS-CoV-2 VOC seemed to increase with age, while in daycare settings the risk of onward transmission of VOCs was higher for younger than older children or partially vaccinated adults. Long-term symptoms following an infection with a VOC were described in <5% of children and adolescents.Conclusion Overall patterns of SARS-CoV-2 VOC infections in children and adolescents are similar to those of earlier lineages. Comparisons between different pandemic periods, countries and age groups should be improved with complete reporting of relevant contextual factors, including VOCs, vaccination status of study participants and the risk of exposure of the population to SARS-CoV-2.PROSPERO registration number CRD42022295207.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/10/e072280.full |
| spellingShingle | Nicola Low Leonie Heron Myrofora Goutaki Yin Ting Lam Arnaud G L'Huillier Margarethe Wiedenmann Aziz Mert Ipekci Lucia Araujo-Chaveron Nirmala Prajapati Muhammad Irfanul Alam Ivan Zhelyazkov SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review BMJ Open |
| title | SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review |
| title_full | SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review |
| title_short | SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with COVID-19: a systematic review |
| title_sort | sars cov 2 variants of concern in children and adolescents with covid 19 a systematic review |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/10/e072280.full |
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