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About 1 in 22 the great unwashed who survive COVID-19 go on to develop a typically womb-to-tomb disease called myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue duty syndrome ( ME / CFS ) , new research hint .
former researchhas shown that ME / CFS can be triggered by viral and bacterial infection , such as Epstein - Barr computer virus , which causes mono , andCoxiella burnetii , which causesQ fever . The new report , published Jan. 13 in theJournal of General Internal Medicine , sought to incur out how often people probably develop ME / CFS after a bout of COVID-19 .
New research adds to a growing body of evidence that COVID-19, like other viral infections, can raise the risk of ME/CFS.
" By my rough deliberation it is possible that over 7 million Americans may have produce ME / atomic number 98 following COVID,“Beth Pollack , a research scientist at MIT who studies ME / CFS and long COVID , told Live Science in an email .
Pollack , who was not involved in the study , said this estimate is free-base on the new enquiry , as well as U.S. Census Bureau statistics and theCDC Household Pulse Survey , which was designed to rapidly assess impacts of the coronaviruspandemicacross the United States .
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ME / CFS ( formerly called " continuing fatigue duty syndrome " ) affects roughly1 in 100 adultsin the U.S. One of its main component part is post - exertional malaise , in which citizenry ’s symptom suddenly decline after physical or mental travail . People with the precondition often experience unrefreshing sleep , brainpower fogand orthostatic intolerance , or sudden profligate - pressure magnetic dip upon standing . physician arestill trying to understand the biological causesof this understudied condition , but as of yet , no approved discussion exist .
Notably , ME / CFS has many overlapping symptoms withlong COVID , an umbrella terminus that describes a compass of health outlet that emerge or aggravate after a COVID-19 infection . Scientists are not yet certain if ME / CFS and long COVID are disjoined illness , saidDr . Anthony Komaroff , a professor of medical specialty at Harvard Medical School and aged Dr. at Brigham and Women ’s Hospital who was not involved in the study .
Emerging evidence suggests they might be " two model of a larger illness that human being and other animals can know after an infection or a major non - infective hurt , " Komaroff tell Live Science in an email .
Tracking ME/CFS after COVID
To investigate the human relationship between COVID-19 and ME / CFS , the research worker studied 11,785 U.S. adult who had contracted SARS - CoV-2 , the virus that causes COVID-19 . Most of the participants were vaccinate at the sentence of the field , and most were recruit asthe omicron variantof the virus was circulating .
The team also read 1,439 adults who had never take in COVID-19 . The status of this group was confirm through negative results on tests that looked for the virus itself and for antibodies against it . Notably , antibody levels wane over prison term , so these examination ca n’t completely rule out infections that take on topographic point a prospicient clip ago .
At three - month intervals , all of the study participants completed questionnaire designed to track potential symptoms of ME / CFS . The researchers then grouped the participant base on symptom stiffness , monitoring whether they had all the symptoms needed for a diagnosis , only some symptoms or no symptom at all .
participant with a schematic ME / CFS diagnosis before the study were take out from the analysis . Typically , being diagnosed with ME / CFS requiresmeeting specific diagnostic criteria , which include tiredness accompanied by strong-arm impairment , post - exertional malaise , unrefreshing sleep , and either cognitive impairment or orthostatic intolerance .
In the bailiwick , only 0.6 % of multitude without a account of COVID-19 developed ME / CFS , compare with 4.5 % of adult who developed the condition at least six month after have COVID-19 . This paint a picture that COVID-19 significantly increase the risk of develop ME / CFS .
Pollack noted that 79.5 % of mass who developed ME / CFS in the field were female , which line up with previous enquiry indicate that bothME / CFSandlong COVIDdisproportionately affect females . " It will be decisive to further study why this is , and to analyse the theatrical role of sex hormones and sex differences in diseased immune answer to infection , " she said .
The study also determine that 88.7 % of participants with ME / CFS after COVID-19 were also diagnosed with long COVID .
" longsighted COVID and ME / CFS have not onlyvery similar symptom , but very similar underlying abnormalities of the brain , resistant system , DOE metabolic process and cardiovascular organization , " Komaroff said . “In my opinion , both farsighted COVID and ME / CFS are likely to be examples of post - discriminating infection syndrome , " he said .
To tone their conclusions , the researchers used a proficiency called leaning score matching . This mean they compare participants in the COVID-19 group with clean participants with similar demographic and preexisting conditions , to help downplay baseline differences between the chemical group .
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But the team remark that some participant may have had undiagnosed ME / CFS before having COVID-19 , which could be a restriction of the study . The questionnaire - based nature of the study presented another limit , because participant may have struggled to remember whether their symptoms get down before or after they had COVID-19 .
Despite these limit , the finding do paint a picture that COVID-19 raises the risk of ME / CFS . And currently , neither ME / CFS nor recollective COVID have O.K. treatment .
" This bailiwick ’s determination underscore the pressing need for treatments , " Pollack said . " ME / Cf can be triggered by multiple trigger in plus to SARS - CoV-2 , and it has been among the least funded malady for research , despite its severity . "
