ArticleInflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.]2023
Long-COVID fatigue is not predicted by pre-pandemic plasma IL-6 levels in mild COVID-19.
Article in Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.], 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Peripheral Levels of Selected Biomarkers in Patients with Post-Sarcoidosis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Intestinal barrier compromise, viral persistence, and immune dysregulation converge on neurological sequelae in Long COVID.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Review
- Defining and measuring long COVID fatigue: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Possible Role of Cannabis in the Management of Neuroinflammation in Patients with Post-COVID Condition.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Analyzing the Interplay between COVID-19 Viral Load, Inflammatory Markers, and Lymphocyte Subpopulations on the Development of Long COVID.Microorganisms · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
OBJECTIVE AND
designFatigue is a prominent symptom in the general population and may follow viral infection, including SARS-CoV2 infection which causes COVID-19. Chronic fatigue lasting more than three months is the major symptom of the post-COVID syndrome (known colloquially as long-COVID). The mechanisms underlying long-COVID fatigue are unknown. We hypothesized that the development of long-COVID chronic fatigue is driven by the pro-inflammatory immune status of an individual prior to COVID-19. SUBJECTS AND
methodsWe analyzed pre-pandemic plasma levels of IL-6, which plays a key role in persistent fatigue, in N = 1274 community dwelling adults from TwinsUK. Subsequent COVID-19-positive and -negative participants were categorized based on SARS-CoV-2 antigen and antibody testing. Chronic fatigue was assessed using the Chalder Fatigue Scale.
resultsCOVID-19-positive participants exhibited mild disease. Chronic fatigue was a prevalent symptom among this population and significantly higher in positive vs. negative participants (17% vs 11%, respectively; p = 0.001). The qualitative nature of chronic fatigue as determined by individual questionnaire responses was similar in positive and negative participants. Pre-pandemic plasma IL-6 levels were positively associated with chronic fatigue in negative, but not positive individuals. Raised BMI was associated with chronic fatigue in positive participants.
conclusionsPre-existing increased IL-6 levels may contribute to chronic fatigue symptoms, but there was no increased risk in individuals with mild COVID-19 compared with uninfected individuals. Elevated BMI also increased the risk of chronic fatigue in mild COVID-19, consistent with previous reports.
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Registered trials
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