AlMuhaissen, Suha, Abu Libdeh, Amal, ElKhatib, Yara et al. · Current medical research and opinion · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at whether people who had COVID-19 might develop ME/CFS afterward. Researchers asked 437 people who had COVID-19 questions based on the official diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS. They found that about 8% of COVID-19 patients met the criteria for ME/CFS, suggesting there may be a connection between the two illnesses.
This research provides epidemiological evidence that ME/CFS may develop following COVID-19 infection, which is important for clinicians to recognize post-COVID symptoms that warrant ME/CFS evaluation. The finding supports the need for follow-up care protocols for COVID-19 patients and validates concerns from both ME/CFS and long COVID communities about overlapping pathophysiology.
This cross-sectional study cannot establish causation—it shows correlation at a single time point but does not prove COVID-19 caused the ME/CFS. The study excluded people with BMI ≥40 kg/m², limiting generalizability. It cannot determine whether these cases represent new-onset ME/CFS or pre-existing undiagnosed cases unmasked by COVID-19.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
AlMuhaissen, Suha, Abu Libdeh, Amal, ElKhatib, Yara, Alshayeb, Rund, Jaara, Areej, & Bardaweel, Sanaa K (2023). Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and COVID-19: is there a connection?. Current medical research and opinion. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007995.2023.2242244
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-almuhaissen-2023-myalgic-encephalomyelitis,
author = {AlMuhaissen, Suha and Abu Libdeh, Amal and ElKhatib, Yara and Alshayeb, Rund and Jaara, Areej and Bardaweel, Sanaa K},
title = {Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and COVID-19: is there a connection?},
journal = {Current medical research and opinion},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1080/03007995.2023.2242244},
note = {PubMed: 37501626},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/almuhaissen-2023-myalgic-encephalomyelitis},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/almuhaissen-2023-myalgic-encephalomyelitis
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