Study links SARS-CoV-2 infection with increase in chronic fatigue
Key takeaways:
- The number of new cases of ME/CFS is 15 times higher now than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Most people who experience ME/CFS after COVID-19 are also diagnosed with long COVID.
Nearly one in 20 people who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection go on to experience myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, an NIH-funded study showed.
Researchers found that new cases of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are 15 times higher now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“From the start, the symptoms of long COVID overlapped substantially with the symptoms of” ME/CFS, Walter Koroshetz, MD, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, told Healio.
ME/CFS is a complex condition that can occur following an infection and is characterized by fatigue that has persisted for at least 6 months, reduction in preillness activities, postexertional malaise, unrefreshing sleep or dizziness when standing, according to the NIH.
According to Koroshetz, while there is no medical test for ME/CFS or long COVID, the symptoms of both not only can overlap, but also may “shift or expand” over time. Unlike ME/CFS, however, long COVID has a known inciting event — SARS-CoV-2 infection — whereas most people with ME/CFS often do not have a documented cause.
Koroshetz said the overlap inspired researchers to analyze ME/CFS rates among long COVID patients in the NIH’s RECOVER initiative to better understand and treat post-COVID-19 conditions because “the worry now is that a substantial number of people with long COVID will transition to a chronic illness identical to what has been described as ME/CFS.”
Suzanne D. Vernon, PhD, research director at the Bateman Horne Center, and colleagues analyzed data on 11,785 participants in the RECOVER study who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1,439 who did not and met criteria for a diagnosis of ME/CFS.
Among patients who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection, 4.5% met criteria for the condition, compared with 0.6% of participants who did not, according to the study. The most common symptom among study participants in the SARS-CoV-2 arm was postexertional malaise, which occurred in 24% of participants.
Additionally, the researchers reported that 88.7% of participants with post-COVID-19 ME/CFS also met the RECOVER criteria for a long COVID diagnosis.
“Given the estimate of 20 million in the U.S. with long COVID, this translates into hundreds of thousands of persons in the U.S. developing ME/CFS due to the pandemic,” Koroshetz said. “Both research and health care should focus on ME/CFS as the numbers of new long COVID cases start to shrink.”
References:
- NIH-funded study finds cases of ME/CFS increase following SARS-CoV-2. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-study-finds-cases-me/cfs-increase-following-sars-cov-2. Published Jan. 13, 2024. Accessed Jan. 17, 2024.
- Vernon SD, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2024;doi:10.1007/s11606-024-09290-9.
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