Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38016860›Full record

Observational studyEBioMedicine2023

Determinants of persistent symptoms after treatment for Lyme borreliosis: a prospective observational cohort study.

Hedwig D Vrijmoeth, Jeanine Ursinus, Margriet G Harms, Anna D Tulen, M E Baarsma, Freek R van de Schoor, Stefanie A Gauw, Tizza P Zomer, Yolande M Vermeeren, José A Ferreira and 7 more

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in EBioMedicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
10.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Lyme borreliosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026
    Review
  3. Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
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  9. The peptidoglycan ofScience translational medicine · 2025
    Article
  10. Understanding the Perspectives, Experiences, Beliefs, and Knowledge of Health Care Practitioners on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease in Canada.Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Hedwig D VrijmoethDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Jeanine UrsinusDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 22660, 1100 DD, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Margriet G HarmsNational Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
Anna D TulenNational Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
M E BaarsmaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 22660, 1100 DD, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Freek R van de SchoorDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Stefanie A GauwDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 22660, 1100 DD, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Tizza P ZomerLyme Center Apeldoorn, Gelre Hospital, P.O. Box 9014, 7300 DS, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
Yolande M VermeerenLyme Center Apeldoorn, Gelre Hospital, P.O. Box 9014, 7300 DS, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
José A FerreiraNational Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
Hein SprongNational Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
Kristin KremerNational Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
Hans KnoopDepartment of Medical Psychology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, P.O. Box 22660, 1100 DD, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Leo A B JoostenDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Bart Jan KullbergDepartment of Internal Medicine and Radboudumc Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Joppe W HoviusDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 22660, 1100 DD, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Cees C van den WijngaardNational Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. Electronic address: kees.van.den.wijngaard@rivm.nl.
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment · NLAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NLRadboud University Nijmegen · NLGelre Hospitals · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients treated for Lyme borreliosis (LB) frequently report persistent symptoms. Little is known about risk factors and etiology.

methodsIn a prospective observational cohort study with a follow-up of one year, we assessed a range of microbiological, immunological, genetic, clinical, functional, epidemiological, psychosocial and cognitive-behavioral variables as determinants of persistent symptoms after treatment for LB. Between 2015 and 2018 we included 1135 physician-confirmed LB patients at initiation of antibiotic therapy, through clinical LB centers and online self-registration. Two reference cohorts of individuals without LB (n = 4000 and n = 2405) served as a control. Prediction analyses and association studies were used to identify determinants, as collected from online questionnaires (three-monthly) and laboratory tests (twice).

findingsMain predictors of persistent symptoms were baseline poorer physical and social functioning, higher depression and anxiety scores, more negative illness perceptions, comorbidity, as well as fatigue, cognitive impairment, and pain in 295 patients with persistent symptoms. The primary prediction model correctly indicated persistent symptoms in 71.0% of predictions (AUC 0.79). In patients with symptoms at baseline, cognitive-behavioral responses to symptoms predicted symptom persistence. Of various microbiological, immunological and genetic factors, only lower IL-10 concentrations in ex vivo stimulation experiments were associated with persistent symptoms. Clinical LB characteristics did not contribute to the prediction of persistent symptoms.

interpretationDeterminants of persistent symptoms after LB were mainly generic, including baseline functioning, symptoms and cognitive-behavioral responses. A potential role of host immune responses remains to be investigated.

fundingNetherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw); the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS).

Indexed as

Lyme DiseaseAnti-Bacterial AgentsHumansNetherlandsProspective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesAnti-Bacterial AgentsErythema migransLyme borreliosisPersistent symptoms

Identifiers

PMID38016860
PMCPMC10755112
OpenAlexW4389059995

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.