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. 2022 Feb 9:13:837288.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.837288. eCollection 2022.

Inflammatory Markers, Pulmonary Function, and Clinical Symptoms in Acute COVID-19 Among Non-Hospitalized Adolescents and Young Adults

Lise Lund Berven  1 , Joel Selvakumar  2 , Lise Havdal  1 , Tonje Stiansen-Sonerud  1   3 , Gunnar Einvik  2   4 , Truls Michael Leegaard  2   5 , Trygve Tjade  6 , Annika E Michelsen  2   7 , Tom Eirik Mollnes  8   9   10   11 , Vegard Bruun Bratholm Wyller  1   2
Affiliations

Inflammatory Markers, Pulmonary Function, and Clinical Symptoms in Acute COVID-19 Among Non-Hospitalized Adolescents and Young Adults

Lise Lund Berven et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Summary: Mild, subacute COVID-19 in young people show inflammatory enhancement, but normal pulmonary function. Inflammatory markers are associated with age and male sex, whereas clinical symptoms are associated with age and female sex, but not with objective disease markers.

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is widespread among adolescents and young adults across the globe. The present study aimed to compare inflammatory markers, pulmonary function and clinical symptoms across non-hospitalized, 12 - 25 years old COVID-19 cases and non-COVID-19 controls, and to investigate associations between inflammatory markers, clinical symptoms, pulmonary function and background variables in the COVID-19 group.

Methods: The present paper presents baseline data from an ongoing longitudinal observational cohort study (Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 in Adolescents, LoTECA, ClinicalTrials ID: NCT04686734). A total of 31 plasma cytokines and complement activation products were assayed by multiplex and ELISA methodologies. Pulmonary function and clinical symptoms were investigated by spirometry and questionnaires, respectively.

Results: A total of 405 COVID-19 cases and 111 non-COVID-19 controls were included. The COVID-19 group had significantly higher plasma levels of IL-1β, IL-4, IL-7, IL-8, IL-12, TNF, IP-10, eotaxin, GM-CSF, bFGF, complement TCC and C3bc, and significantly lower levels of IL-13 and MIP-1α, as compared to controls. Spirometry did not detect any significant differences across the groups. IL-4, IL-7, TNF and eotaxin were negatively associated with female sex; eotaxin and IL-4 were positively associated with age. Clinical symptoms were positively associated with female sex and age, but not with objective disease markers.

Conclusions: Among non-hospitalized adolescents and young adults with COVID-19 there was significant alterations of plasma inflammatory markers in the subacute stage of the infection. Still, pulmonary function was normal. Clinical symptoms were independent of inflammatory and pulmonary function markers, but positively associated with age and female sex.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; adolescents; cohort study; inflammatory markers; non-hospitalized.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the LoTECA project (Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 in Adolescents). The present study report findings from baseline investigations. Follow-up is ongoing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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