ArticleBMC infectious diseases2022
Non-specific symptoms and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome in patients with Lyme borreliosis: a prospective cohort study in Belgium (2016-2020).
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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17 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome in Six European Countries Using Data from the Burden of Lyme Disease (BOLD) Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Lyme borreliosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- The Lyme Disease Vaccine Paradox.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- A Prospective Cohort Longitudinal Study of Human Acute Babesiosis: Quality of Life and Severity of Symptoms Through 1-Year Follow-up.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Nonspecific Symptoms Attributable to Lyme Disease in High-Incidence Areas, United States, 2017-2021.Emerging infectious diseases · 2025Article
- The peptidoglycan ofScience translational medicine · 2025Article
- Excess Healthcare Costs and Resource Utilisation of Lyme Borreliosis in Germany: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.Zoonoses and public health · 2025Article
- Lyme disease associated neurological and musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Review
- Residual Symptoms and Quality of Life After Treated Lyme Neuroborreliosis: Case-Control Study (QoLYME).Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Lyme Disease: A Literature Review of Psychiatric and Cognitive Impacts.Acta medica Lituanic · 2025Article
- Mitochondrial dysfunction in long COVID: mechanisms, consequences, and potential therapeutic approaches.GeroScience · 2024Review
- Article
- Neuropsychiatric Manifestations and Cognitive Decline in Patients With Long-Standing Lyme Disease: A Scoping Review.Cureus · 2024Article
- What a Tick Can Tell a Doctor: Using the Human-Biting Tick in the Clinical Management of Tick-Borne Disease.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Cost of illness in patients with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome in Belgium.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- Diagnostic probability classification in suspected borreliosis by a novelFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Lyme borreliosis in Belgium: a cost-of-illness analysis.BMC public health · 2022Article
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13 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPatients with Lyme borreliosis (LB) may report persisting non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, widespread musculoskeletal pain or cognitive difficulties. When present for more than 6 months and causing a reduction in daily activities, this is often referred to as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). This study aimed to compare the occurrence of symptoms between LB patients and controls, to estimate the proportion of LB patients developing PTLDS and to identify risk factors.
methodsA prospective cohort study was set up including three subpopulations: patients with an erythema migrans (EM) (i) or disseminated/late LB (ii) and a non-LB control group (iii). At 6- and 12-months follow-up, the occurrence of several symptoms, including six symptoms used to define PTLDS, i.e. muscle pain, joint pain, fatigue, memory problems, difficulties concentrating and problems finding words, and impact on daily activities, was compared between LB patients and controls. Finally, the proportion of LB patients developing PTLDS as defined by the Infectious Disease Society of America was estimated, including a time frame for symptoms to be present.
resultsAlthough the risk of presenting PTLDS-related symptoms was significantly higher in EM patients (n = 120) compared to controls (n = 128) at 6 months follow-up, the risk of presenting at least one of these symptoms combined with impact on daily activities was not significantly higher in EM patients, at either 6- or 12-months follow-up. A significant association was found between disseminated/late LB (n = 15) and the occurrence of any PTLDS-symptom with an impact on daily activities at both time points. The proportion of patients with PTLDS was estimated at 5.9% (95% CI 2.7-12.9) in EM patients and 20.9% (95% CI 6.8-64.4) in patients with disseminated/late LB (RR = 3.53, 95% CI 0.98-12.68, p = 0.053). No significant risk factors were identified, which may be explained by small sample sizes.
conclusionsIn our study, PTLDS was present in both LB cohorts, yet with a higher percentage in disseminated/late LB patients. Additional research is needed into risk factors for and causes of this syndrome. In addition, development and validation of standardized methods to assess the PTLDS case definition, easily applicable in practice, is of great importance.
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