{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T13:08:03Z","timestamp":1779368883744,"version":"3.53.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779321600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The relationship between allergic status, SARS-CoV-2 infection, Long COVID, and post-restriction respiratory outcomes in children remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to explore the associations between allergic status and Long COVID, as well as between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and post-restriction changes in allergic rhinitis (AR), asthma, and upper respiratory infections, in a pediatric tertiary-care cohort. Methods: We conducted a single-center, questionnaire-based observational study involving children aged 0\u201316 years, who were followed at the Pediatric Allergy Clinic of Umberto I Hospital in Rome. Parents completed an email-based questionnaire addressing SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccination, persistent post-infectious symptoms, allergic diseases, and respiratory infections following restrictions. Analyses of Long COVID were limited to children with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: A total of 214 questionnaires were analyzed. Allergic status was not significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the overall cohort. Among infected children, allergic status was independently associated with higher odds of Long COVID (adjusted OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.20\u20138.09; p = 0.019). Severe acute infection was also strongly associated with Long COVID (adjusted OR 6.84, 95% CI 2.72\u201317.21; p &lt; 0.001). Complete vaccination was associated with lower odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the overall sample (adjusted OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.09\u20130.46; p &lt; 0.001) but was not independently associated with Long COVID among infected children. After the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, 90.1% of allergic children reported worsening AR and 52.0% reported worsening asthma, with no significant association with SARS-CoV-2 infection or Long COVID. Group A Streptocossus (GAS) pharyngitis was reported in 50.0% and viral pharyngitis in 10.7% of the cohort, with no significant differences between allergic and non-allergic children. Conclusions: In this single-center, questionnaire-based pediatric cohort, allergic status was correlated with increased likelihood of Long COVID among children with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, it was not associated with a higher risk of infection itself. Complete vaccination was linked to a reduced risk of infection, whereas no independent correlation with Long COVID was identified. Post-restriction exacerbation of allergic respiratory symptoms was prevalent, while the incidence of bacterial and viral pharyngitis did not vary significantly according to allergic status.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15103982","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T12:06:07Z","timestamp":1779365167000},"page":"3982","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Allergic Status, Long COVID, and Post-Restriction Respiratory Outcomes in Children: A Single-Center Questionnaire-Based Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5059-6082","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Brindisi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9211-6829","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"Gori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elia","family":"Pignataro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giorgio","family":"Colletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1098-682X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sonia","family":"Iavarone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"Spalice","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9607-8632","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Caterina","family":"Anania","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Maria","family":"Zicari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137940","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhazmat.2025.137940","article-title":"Effects of early-life air pollution exposure on childhood COVID-19 infection and sequelae in China","volume":"491","author":"Lu","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. 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