COVID-19 Infection Associated With Higher Risk of ME/CFS, According to Study

New findings from the NIH’s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative “suggest that infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may be associated with an increase in the number of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) cases.”

The results showed that 4.5% of post-COVID-19 participants in the study “met ME/CFS diagnostic criteria, compared to 0.6% participants that had not been infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus.” The research team examined “11,785 participants who had been infected by SARS-CoV-2 and 1,439 participants who had not been infected by the virus.”

ME/CFS is a condition that often occurs following an infection, characterized by “ew-onset fatigue that has persisted for at least six months and is accompanied by a reduction in pre-illness activities; post-exertional malaise, which is a worsening of symptoms following physical or mental activity; and unrefreshing sleep plus either cognitive impairment or orthostatic intolerance, which is dizziness when standing. People with Long COVID also experience some or all of these symptoms.”

The research team found that “new incidence cases of ME/CFS were 15 times higher than pre-pandemic levels.”