"COVID-19 Triggers ME/CFS"
by Suzanne D. Vernon
https://batemanhornecenter.org/covid-19-triggers-me-cfs/
"…we found that among participants infected with SARS-CoV-2, the incidence of ME/CFS—defined using the Institute of Medicine (IOM) diagnostic criteria—was 15 times higher than pre-pandemic rates"
"531 participants met ME/CFS criteria, translating to a prevalence of 4.5% among those infected—nearly eight times higher than uninfected participants"
Here's a link to the study she is discussing, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine:
"Incidence and Prevalence of Post-COVID-19 Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Report from the Observational RECOVER-Adult Study"
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-024-09290-9
One last quote:
"The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder of the complex and lasting impact that viral infections can have on human health.
The rise in ME/CFS cases is a wake-up call for the medical community.
Now is the time to act, to educate, and to provide the compassionate care that can transform lives."
Adding a link to the NIH press release on this study here (mostly so I can find it later!)
"NIH-funded study finds cases of ME/CFS increase following SARS-CoV-2"
@ahimsa_pdx @mecfs @longcovid Completely unsurprising to those of us who follow #LongCovid, but important nonetheless.
@BruceMirken
Yep. I've had ME/CFS since 1990.
It seemed pretty obvious to me that the pandemic would increase the number of ME/CFS cases but it's nice to have some numbers to back that up.
I think that if ME/CFS had been more widely known before the pandemic started then the term Long Covid might not have been invented. I realize that not all Long Covid cases meet the ME/CFS diagnostic criteria but many of them do.