ArticleJournal of translational medicine2022
Brain fog of post-COVID-19 condition and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, same medical disorder?
Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and long-term outcomes of brain fog and cognitive impairment in individuals with long COVID: A systematic review.Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Brain fog with long covid and chemotherapy: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Is self-report brain fog after mild COVID-19 truly induced by COVID-19 infection? A longitudinal fNIRS study.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exploring the Active Components of Buqi-Zhitong-Decoction and Its Therapeutic Potential for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Based on LC-MS/MS and Network Pharmacology.Journal of separation science · 2026Article
- Two-timepoint multidomain follow-up of post-COVID condition and ME/CFS: overlapping autonomic, small-fiber, and cognitive changes.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Chronic fatigue syndrome in nursing practice: a concept analysis.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Neurovascular and synaptic milieu of brain-resident cells in cognitive dysfunction of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Sleep architecture and rapid eye movement sleep without atonia in post-COVID-19 insomnia.Sleep · 2026Article
- Experiences and coping strategies among patients with mild COVID-19 who develop post COVID conditions at a primary care centre.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Persistent olfactory dysfunction as an indicator of cognitive impairment in long COVID-19 syndrome: implications for monitoring and rehabilitation.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- The fatigue spectrum in a community-based long haul COVID cohort.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2026Article
- Distinct functional connectivity patterns in myalgic encephalomyelitis and long COVID patients during cognitive fatigue: a 7 Tesla task-fMRI study.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- From infection to dysfunction: viral triggers and antiviral immune factors in Alzheimer's disease pathology.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Menopause-related brain fog as a midlife window in women's brain aging: toward ecologically valid measurement and digital phenotyping.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Autonomic dysfunction and quality of life in a cohort of neurology outpatients with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, a two-year follow-up study.Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia · 2026Article
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): diagnosis and management.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- Functional olfactory impairment and fatigue in post-COVID-19 syndrome including ME/CFS - a longitudinal prospective observational study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Glymphatic System Dysregulation as a Key Contributor to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMyalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is characterized by persistent physical and mental fatigue. The post-COVID-19 condition patients refer physical fatigue and cognitive impairment sequelae. Given the similarity between both conditions, could it be the same pathology with a different precipitating factor?
objectiveTo describe the cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and general symptomatology in both groups, to find out if it is the same pathology. As well as verify if the affectation of smell is related to cognitive deterioration in patients with post-COVID-19 condition.
methodsThe sample included 42 ME/CFS and 73 post-COVID-19 condition patients. Fatigue, sleep quality, anxiety and depressive symptoms, the frequency and severity of different symptoms, olfactory function and a wide range of cognitive domains were evaluated.
resultsBoth syndromes are characterized by excessive physical fatigue, sleep problems and myalgia. Sustained attention and processing speed were impaired in 83.3% and 52.4% of ME/CFS patients while in post-COVID-19 condition were impaired in 56.2% and 41.4% of patients, respectively. Statistically significant differences were found in sustained attention and visuospatial ability, being the ME/CFS group who presented the worst performance. Physical problems and mood issues were the main variables correlating with cognitive performance in post-COVID-19 patients, while in ME/CFS it was anxiety symptoms and physical fatigue.
conclusionsThe symptomatology and cognitive patterns were similar in both groups, with greater impairment in ME/CFS. This disease is characterized by greater physical and neuropsychiatric problems compared to post-COVID-19 condition. Likewise, we also propose the relevance of prolonged hyposmia as a possible marker of cognitive deterioration in patients with post-COVID-19.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.