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Introduction: We describe post-COVID symptomatology in a national sample of 11-17-year-old children and young people (CYP) with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to test-negative controls.Methods and analysis: A cohort study of test-positive (n=3,065) and age-, sex- and geographically-matched test-negative CYP (n=3,739) completed detailed questionnaires 3 months post-test.Results: At PCR-testing, 35.4% of test-positives and 8.3% of test-negatives had any symptoms whilst 30.6% and 6.2%, respectively, had 3+ symptoms. At 3 months post-testing, 66.5% of test-positives and 53.3% of test-negatives had any symptoms, whilst 30.3% and 16.2%, respectively, had 3+ symptoms. Latent class analysis identified two classes, characterised by “few” or “multiple” symptoms. This latter class was more frequent among test-positives, females, older CYP and those with worse pre-test physical and mental health.Discussion: Test-positive CYP had a similar symptom profile to test-negative CYP but with higher prevalence of single and, particularly, multiple symptoms at PCR-testing and 3 months later.

Background Plant-based diets (PBDs) are increasingly recommended for human and planetary health. However, comprehensive evidence on the health effects of PBDs in children remains incomplete, particularly in vegans. Objectives To quantify differences in body composition, cardiovascular risk, and micronutrient status of vegetarian and vegan children relative to omnivores and to estimate prevalence of abnormal micronutrient and cholesterol status in each group. Methods In a cross-sectional study, Polish children aged 5–10 y (63 vegetarian, 52 vegan, 72 matched omnivores) were assessed using anthropometry, deuterium dilution, DXA, and carotid ultrasound. Fasting blood samples, dietary intake, and accelerometry data were collected. Results All results are reported relative to omnivores. Vegetarians had lower gluteofemoral adiposity but similar total fat and lean mass. Vegans had lower fat indices in all regions but similar lean mass. Both groups had lower bone mineral content (BMC). The difference for vegetarians attenuated after accounting for body size but remained in vegans (total body minus the head: –3.7%; 95% CI: –7.0, –0.4; lumbar spine: –5.6%; 95% CI: –10.6, –0.5). Vegetarians had lower total cholesterol, HDL, and serum B-12 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] without supplementation but higher glucose, VLDL, and triglycerides. Vegans were shorter and had lower total LDL (–24 mg/dL; 95% CI: –35.2, –12.9) and HDL (–12.2 mg/dL; 95% CI: –17.3, –7.1), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, iron status, and serum B-12 (–217.6 pmol/L; 95% CI: –305.7, –129.5) and 25(OH)D without supplementation but higher homocysteine and mean corpuscular volume. Vitamin B-12 deficiency, iron-deficiency anemia, low ferritin, and low HDL were more prevalent in vegans, who also had the lowest prevalence of high LDL. Supplementation resolved low B-12 and 25(OH)D concentrations. Conclusions Vegan diets were associated with a healthier cardiovascular risk profile but also with increased risk of nutritional deficiencies and lower BMC and height. Vegetarians showed less pronounced nutritional deficiencies but, unexpectedly, a less favorable cardiometabolic risk profile. Further research may help maximize the benefits of PBDs in children.

IntroductionThere is uncertainty surrounding the diagnosis, prevalence, phenotype, duration and treatment of Long COVID. This study aims to (A) describe the clinical phenotype of post-COVID symptomatology in children and young people (CYP) with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with test-negative controls, (B) produce an operational definition of Long COVID in CYP, and (C) establish its prevalence in CYP.Methods and analysisA cohort study of SARS-CoV-2-positive CYP aged 11–17 years compared with age, sex and geographically matched SARS-CoV-2 test-negative CYP. CYP aged 11–17 testing positive and negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection will be identified and contacted 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after the test date. Consenting CYP will complete an online questionnaire. We initially planned to recruit 3000 test positives and 3000 test negatives but have since extended our target. Data visualisation techniques will be used to examine trajectories over time for symptoms and variables measured repeatedly, separately by original test status. Summary measures of fatigue and mental health dimensions will be generated using dimension reduction methods such as latent variables/latent class/principal component analysis methods. Cross-tabulation of collected and derived variables against test status and discriminant analysis will help operationalise preliminary definitions of Long COVID.Ethics and disseminationResearch Ethics Committee approval granted. Data will be stored in secure Public Health England servers or University College London’s Data Safe Haven. Risks of harm will be minimised by providing information on where to seek support. Results will be published on a preprint server followed by journal publication, with reuse of articles under a CC BY licence. Data will be published with protection against identification when there are small frequencies involved.Trial registration numberISRCTN34804192; Pre-results.