Charité study tracks patients with pronounced fatigue over 20 months. A new study has found that many people with post-COVID syndrome who suffer from fatigue six months after a coronavirus infection are still severely physically impaired up to 20 months afterward. The vast majority of patients who
Research reveals that individuals with post-COVID syndrome often suffer significant physical impairment up to 20 months after infection. Patients diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome particularly remain severely affected.A new study has found that many people with post-COVID syndrome who suffer from fatigue six months after a coronavirus infection are still severely physically impaired up to 20 months afterward.
Patients and others are naturally wondering how long these symptoms will persist. Findings from a number of studies are now available for the initial few months following infection. According to this research, recovery generally takes longer the more severe the initial infection was. Many people – but unfortunately not all – see symptoms improve within a year. The long-term progression of the illness in these patients has been unclear so far.
The new study shows that the latter group experiences some improvement over time, not only in fatigue, but also in terms of general malaise, pain, and concentration problems. These people’s functional ability often improved, and some of those studied were even able to return to work. By contrast, post-COVID patients with ME/CFS saw barely any change in their symptoms. There were very few exceptions.
“Grip strength was not only a parameter for how severe the disease was to start with, but also a predictor of how ME/CFS would progress,” explains Prof. Carmen Scheibenbogen, Acting Director of the Institute of Medical Immunology at Charité and the head of the Charité Fatigue Center. She and Bellmann-Strobl were the principal investigators in the study.