AUTHOR=Vizzari Giulia , Morniroli Daniela , Tiraferri Valentina , Castaldi Silvana , Patria Maria Francesca , Marchisio Paola , Agostoni Carlo , Mosca Fabio , Buonsenso Danilo , Milani Gregorio Paolo , Giannì Maria Lorella , The CHICO Study Group , Folino Francesco , Pensabene Maria Carola , Macchi Marina , Rose Cristina De , Morello Rosa , Gentili Carolina , Zona Margherita , Matteis Alessia De TITLE=Modulating Role of Breastfeeding Toward Long COVID Occurrence in Children: A Preliminary Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2022.884962 DOI=10.3389/fped.2022.884962 ISSN=2296-2360 ABSTRACT=

The SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2) pandemic has forced the global health system to face new challenges both in the acute management of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) patients and in its consequences. In particular, the long-term effects of this new virus, especially in children, are still poorly understood. Scientific research is currently trying to understand the mechanisms underlying the so called “long COVID syndrome”. Since the beginning of the pandemic, breastmilk has been studied for its antiviral and immunomodulatory properties. Based on these assumptions, we conducted a preliminary study in order to investigate the prevalence of long COVID in a cohort of Italian children with previously detected SARS-CoV-2 infection and evaluate if breastfeeding might play a role in modulating long COVID occurrence.