Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic
Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize SARS-CoV-2 infection patterns in Los Angeles (LA) County youth followed at our institution during the first pandemic year. Design: A prospective cohort of patients aged < 25 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse-transcriptase...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971222003745 |
| _version_ | 1817995071087181824 |
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| author | Tawny Saleh Tara Kerin Trevon Fuller Sophia Paiola Mary C. Cambou Yash Motwani Caitlin N. Newhouse Shangxin Yang Edwin Kamau Omai B. Garner Sukantha Chandrasekaran Karin Nielsen-Saines |
| author_facet | Tawny Saleh Tara Kerin Trevon Fuller Sophia Paiola Mary C. Cambou Yash Motwani Caitlin N. Newhouse Shangxin Yang Edwin Kamau Omai B. Garner Sukantha Chandrasekaran Karin Nielsen-Saines |
| author_sort | Tawny Saleh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize SARS-CoV-2 infection patterns in Los Angeles (LA) County youth followed at our institution during the first pandemic year. Design: A prospective cohort of patients aged < 25 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays between March 13, 2020, and March 31, 2021, was evaluated at a large LA County health network. Demographics, age distribution, and disease severity were analyzed. Results: There were 28,088 youth aged < 25 years tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR, with 1849 positive results identified (7%). Among the positive results, 475 of 11,922 (4%) were identified at the pandemic onset (March-September 2020) (Cohort 1) and 1374 of 16,166 (9%) between October 2020 and March 2021 (Cohort 2), P < 0.001. When disease severity was compared across cohorts, Cohort 2 had a greater proportion of asymptomatic and mild/moderate disease categories than Cohort 1 (98% vs 80%, respectively); conversely, Cohort 1 had a near–10-fold higher proportion of severe disease than Cohort 2 (17% vs 1.8%). Cohort 2 comprised younger patients with a mean age of 13.7 years vs 17.3 years in Cohort 1. Older age was associated with a higher percentage of infection, with 63% of all confirmed cases found in participants aged 19 to 25 years in Cohort 1, compared with 38% of confirmed cases in Cohort 2. Age increase was also associated with greater disease severity by linear regression modeling (P< 0.001). Conclusion: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity in youth decreased over time in LA County during the first pandemic year, likely a reflection of changing demographics, with younger children infected. A higher infection rate in youth did not lead to higher disease severity over time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:00:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-be0aed2b344641c192d92db3f76bf3e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1201-9712 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:00:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-be0aed2b344641c192d92db3f76bf3e82022-12-22T02:18:50ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases1201-97122022-09-01122514520Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemicTawny Saleh0Tara Kerin1Trevon Fuller2Sophia Paiola3Mary C. Cambou4Yash Motwani5Caitlin N. Newhouse6Shangxin Yang7Edwin Kamau8Omai B. Garner9Sukantha Chandrasekaran10Karin Nielsen-Saines11Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Corresponding author: Tawny Saleh, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, MDCC 22-340, 10833 LeConte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USAInstitute of the Environment & Sustainability, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USAObjectives: The aim of this study was to characterize SARS-CoV-2 infection patterns in Los Angeles (LA) County youth followed at our institution during the first pandemic year. Design: A prospective cohort of patients aged < 25 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays between March 13, 2020, and March 31, 2021, was evaluated at a large LA County health network. Demographics, age distribution, and disease severity were analyzed. Results: There were 28,088 youth aged < 25 years tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-PCR, with 1849 positive results identified (7%). Among the positive results, 475 of 11,922 (4%) were identified at the pandemic onset (March-September 2020) (Cohort 1) and 1374 of 16,166 (9%) between October 2020 and March 2021 (Cohort 2), P < 0.001. When disease severity was compared across cohorts, Cohort 2 had a greater proportion of asymptomatic and mild/moderate disease categories than Cohort 1 (98% vs 80%, respectively); conversely, Cohort 1 had a near–10-fold higher proportion of severe disease than Cohort 2 (17% vs 1.8%). Cohort 2 comprised younger patients with a mean age of 13.7 years vs 17.3 years in Cohort 1. Older age was associated with a higher percentage of infection, with 63% of all confirmed cases found in participants aged 19 to 25 years in Cohort 1, compared with 38% of confirmed cases in Cohort 2. Age increase was also associated with greater disease severity by linear regression modeling (P< 0.001). Conclusion: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity in youth decreased over time in LA County during the first pandemic year, likely a reflection of changing demographics, with younger children infected. A higher infection rate in youth did not lead to higher disease severity over time.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971222003745COVID-19ChildrenYouthDisease severity |
| spellingShingle | Tawny Saleh Tara Kerin Trevon Fuller Sophia Paiola Mary C. Cambou Yash Motwani Caitlin N. Newhouse Shangxin Yang Edwin Kamau Omai B. Garner Sukantha Chandrasekaran Karin Nielsen-Saines Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic International Journal of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Children Youth Disease severity |
| title | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic |
| title_full | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic |
| title_short | Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Los Angeles County youth during the first year of the pandemic |
| title_sort | clinical and epidemiological characteristics of sars cov 2 infection in los angeles county youth during the first year of the pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 Children Youth Disease severity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971222003745 |
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