SynthesisPloS one2023
Prevalence of mental health problems among children with long COVID: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: Call to action for post-COVID-19 at the global level.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Estimation of the prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of meta-analyses.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Individualized online exercise therapy aids recovery in pediatric long-COVID-findings from an exploratory randomized controlled trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Trial
- Management of long COVID-19 in children and adolescents: from diagnosis to therapeutically approaches.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Symptom variation up to two years post-SARS-CoV-2 infection in Children and Young People: results from the Children and young people with Long Covid (CLoCk) study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Post-infectious psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses in children and adolescents following COVID-19.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Trends in depressive episodes in pre-, intra-, and post-COVID-19 pandemic periods among South Korean adults.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Adaptation and Validation of the 8-Item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-8) in Peruvian School Adolescents.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Children and adolescents: Respiratory infection and long-term effects longitudinal study (CARE Study): Study protocol.PloS one · 2026Article
- Mass Trauma in Children: Expanding the Concept of Exposure in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Pediatric long COVID: relationships with premorbid history of anxiety or depression and health-related quality of life.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2025Article
- Network Analysis and Mediation Effect Analysis of Anxiety Symptoms and Sleep Patterns for Adolescents.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2025Article
- Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 long term outcomes study (PECOS): cross sectional analysis at baseline.Pediatric research · 2025Observational
- Quality of life and mental health in children with long COVID.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Long COVID in people with mental health disorders: a scoping review.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Long COVID-19: A Narrative Review of Clinical Aspects and Therapeutic Approaches.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on administrative eating disorder prevalence in the outpatient sector and on severity of anorexia nervosa.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Long COVID in Children and Adolescents: Mechanisms, Symptoms, and Long-Term Impact on Health-A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Exploring the prevalence and risk factors of adolescent mental health issues in the COVID and post-COVID era in the U.K.: A systematic review.EXCLI journal · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe number of children with mental health problems has more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the effect of long Covid on children's mental health is still debatable. Recognising long Covid as a risk factor for mental health problems in children will increase awareness and screening for mental health problems following COVID-19 infection, resulting in earlier intervention and lower morbidity. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the proportion of mental health problems post-COVID-19 infection in children and adolescents, and to compare them with the population with no previous COVID-19 infection. METHODOLOGY: A systematic search was done in seven databases using pre-defined search terms. Cross-sectional, cohort and interventional studies reporting the proportion of mental health problems among children with long COVID in the English language from 2019 to May 2022 were included. Selection of papers, extraction of data and quality assessment were done independently by two reviewers. Studies with satisfactory quality were included in meta-analysis using R and Revman software programmes.
resultsThe initial search retrieved 1848 studies. After screening, 13 studies were included in the quality assessments. Meta-analysis showed children who had previous COVID-19 infection had more than two times higher odds of having anxiety or depression, and 14% higher odds of having appetite problems, compared to children with no previous infection. The pooled prevalence of mental health problems among the population were as follows; anxiety: 9%(95% CI:1, 23), depression: 15%(95% CI:0.4, 47), concentration problems: 6%(95% CI: 3, 11), sleep problems: 9%(95% CI:5, 13), mood swings: 13% (95%CI:5, 23) and appetite loss: 5%(95% CI:1, 13). However, studies were heterogenous and lack data from low- and middle-income countries.
conclusionAnxiety, depression and appetite problems were significantly increased among post-COVID-19 infected children, compared to those without a previous infection, which may be attributed to long COVID. The findings underscore the importance of screening and early intervention of children post-COVID-19 infection at one month and between three to four months.
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Registered trials
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