Inflammatory markers and pulmonary function in adolescents and young adults 6 months after mild COVID-19 2023 Sommen et al

Introduction: Both public and scientific attention have shifted from the acute COVID-19 illness to the chronic disability experienced by a proportion of COVID-19 convalescents. Post COVID-19 condition, a term used for long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19, can affect individuals across all disease severity and age groups. Data on post-COVID-19 symptomatology, epidemiology and pathophysiology in adolescents and young adults are scarce. To date, little is known on the immunological and pulmonary trends in these patients after COVID-19. This study investigated immunological markers and pulmonary function in non-hospitalized patients in this group at 6 months after initial mild COVID-19 infection.

Methods: Non-hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 positive (n = 405) and SARS-CoV-2 negative (n = 111) adolescents and young adults (aged 12-25 years) were followed prospectively for six months after SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. At baseline and at six months follow-up, all participants underwent an assessment including clinical examination, questionnaires, spirometry, and blood sampling. Cross-sectional comparisons of blood biomarkers; including white blood cell counts, CRP, GDF-15, a 27-multiplex cytokine assay, complement activation products and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies; and spirometry measures were performed after classification of all participants according to their COVID-19 status and adherence to post-COVID-19 case criteria. Associations between biomarkers and COVID-19 symptoms were explored.

Results: No difference in pulmonary function was detected between the groups. COVID-19 convalescents had higher levels of chemokines eotaxin, MCP-1 and IP-10 than non-infected controls. The increase was modest and not associated with long-lasting COVID-19 symptoms.

Discussion: Elevated inflammatory mediators were found in adolescents and young adults six months after mild COVID-19, but there was no association with post-COVID-19 condition.

Open access, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1081718/full

 

The apparent disconnection between clinical symptoms and biological aberrations is an intriguing observation that gives further merit to studies suggesting mental processes as the main determinant of symptom persistence after COVID-19 (50), and deserves further investigations.

Wyller comes through again. No findings in a limited study = has to be mental.

Also, for clinical symptoms, we did not ask the participants to grade the present state but rather the frequency over a defined time period, which may potentially explain the poor correlation between symptoms and disease markers.

I’m bringing this up because Wyller wanted to transfer this data to COFFI, and got a firm no from ethics.