Assessment of consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents by the method of questionnaire

Abstract

Background. In Russia, of all detected cases of COVID-19, 18 % were in the pediatric population. According to a number of studies, adolescents develop long-term clinical and psychological consequences after an illness. Therefore, at present, the most relevant is a thorough study of the structure and severity of consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents.The aim of the research was to assess the severity of consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents depending on the time period after diseases.Methods. The sample included 96  people aged 11–16  years: 48  adolescents who  have  undergone COVID-19 (main group); 48  adolescents who  did  not  have  COVID-19 (control group). The main group was divided into six subgroups, depending on the period after COVID-19. The following research methods were used: clinical history using a standardized interview method; “Correction test” method by B.  Bourdon; Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-1A); Adolescent’s Form of Manifest Anxiety Scale by A.M. Prikhozhan.Results. Clinical symptoms of COVID-19 during the acute phase of the disease were considered in adolescents. It has been established that the most common symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, severe fatigue, impaired sense of smell, impaired taste, headache (most often localized in the frontal region). Clinical and psychological symptoms characteristic of post-COVID syndrome were considered as consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents. The majority of the  examined adolescents showed the following clinical symptoms of COVID-19 after discharge: asthenia, disturbances of smell and taste; lasting from 2 to  64 weeks. As psychological symptoms, adolescents were characterized by reduced attention span, reduced speed of information processing and concentration, as well as the presence of symptoms of severe depression and high anxiety. During the second month after COVID-19, the most unfavorable emotional state was revealed in adolescents.Conclusions. The data obtained made it possible to determine that post-COVID syndrome in adolescents is characterized by the presence of an asthenic condition, impaired attention, high anxiety, severe depressive symptoms.