Abstract:
Introduction: Our objective was to determine which symptoms among long-hauler COVID-19 patients change over time, and how their symptoms compare to another chronic illness group. 278 long-haulers completed two symptom questionnaires at one time point, with one recounting experiences from an average of 21.7 weeks prior.
Methods: We used a comparison group of 502 patients diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Participants completed a standardized symptom questionnaire and a list of additional CDC COVID-19 symptoms.
Results: Over time, the long-haulers reported an overall reduction of most symptoms including unrefreshing sleep and post-exertional malaise, but an intensification of neurocognitive symptoms. When compared to ME/CFS, the COVID-19 sample was initially more symptomatic for the immune and orthostatic domains but over time, the long-haulers evidenced significantly less severe symptoms than those with ME/CFS, except in the orthostatic domain. Among the COVID-19 long haulers, several neurocognitive symptoms got worse over time, whereas improvements occurred in most other areas.
Conclusions: These types of differential patterns of symptoms over time might contribute to helping better understand the pathophysiology of those reporting prolonged illness following COVID-19.
Source: Jason LA, Islam M, Conroy K, Cotler J, Torres C, Johnson M, Mabie B. COVID-19 Symptoms Over Time: Comparing Long-Haulers to ME/CFS. Fatigue. 2021;9(2):59-68. doi: 10.1080/21641846.2021.1922140. Epub 2021 May 5. PMID: 34484973; PMCID: PMC8411893. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34484973/