Scientists, from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), investigating long COVID in youth found similar but distinguishable patterns between school-age children (ages 6-11 years) and adolescents (ages 12-17 years) and identified their most common symptoms.

Teenagers were more likely to report low energy or fatigue, while children were more likely to report headaches.

The researchers identified 18 prolonged symptoms that were more common in school-age children, including headache, trouble with memory or focusing, trouble sleeping, and stomach pain. In adolescents, 17 more common symptoms were identified, including daytime tiredness/sleepiness or low energy, body, muscle, or joint pain, headaches, and trouble with memory or focusing.