No Association between SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Quality of Life 6- and 12-Months After Infection

• Published in: Academic pediatrics 2024-07, p.102536, Article 102536
• Main Authors: Dun-Dery, Frederick, Xie, Jianling, Winston, Kathleen, Burstein, Brett, Emsley, Jason, Sabhaney, Vikram, Gravel, Jocelyn, Zemek, Roger, Kam, April, Mater, Ahmed, Beer, Darcy, Freire, Gabrielle, Poonai, Naveen, Berthelot, Simon, Porter, Robert, Moffatt, Anne, Salvadori, Marina, Dixon, Andrew, Freedman, Stephen B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; emergency departments (ED); pediatric; pediatric quality of life inventory (PedsQL); prospective cohort
• ISSN: 1876-2859; 1876-2867; 1876-2867
• DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2024.07.003

To assess the association between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and long-term quality of life (QoL). Prospective cohort study with 6- and 12-months follow-up conducted in 14 Canadian institutions. Children tested for SARS-CoV-2 between August 2020 and February 2022 were eligible. QoL was measured using PedsQL-4.0, overall health status scores 6- and 12-months after testing. Among SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative participants eligible for long-term follow-up, 74.8% (505/675) and 71.8% (1106/1541) at 6- and 59.0% (727/1233) and 68.1% (2520/3699) at 12-months, completed follow-up, respectively. Mean ± SD PedsQL scores did not differ between positive and negative groups; difference: −0.86 (95% CI: −2.33, 0.61) at 6- and −0.48 (95% CI: −1.6, 0.64) at 12-months, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 test-positivity was associated with higher social subscale scores. Although in bivariate analysis, overall health status at 6-months was higher among SARS-CoV-2 cases [difference: 2.16 (95% CI: 0.80, 3.53)], after adjustment for co-variates, SARS-CoV-2 infection was not independently associated with total PedsQL or overall health status at either time point. Parental perception of recovery did not differ based on SARS-CoV-2 test-status at either time point. SARS-CoV-2 infection was not associated with QoL, overall health status, or parental perception of recovery 6- and 12-months following infection.