Davis, Hannah E, McCorkell, Lisa, Vogel, Julia Moore et al. · Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2023 · DOI
Long COVID is a serious illness affecting at least 10% of people who had COVID-19, with an estimated 65 million people worldwide experiencing it. The condition causes over 200 different symptoms affecting many body systems, similar to ME/CFS and other post-viral illnesses. This review examines what scientists have learned about Long COVID's causes and effects, though better diagnostic tests and treatments are still urgently needed.
This comprehensive review strengthens the scientific foundation linking Long COVID to ME/CFS by documenting shared pathophysiological mechanisms across post-viral illnesses. For ME/CFS patients and researchers, it validates that Long COVID research advances directly inform understanding of ME/CFS and emphasizes the urgent need for validated biomarkers and effective treatments applicable to both conditions.
As a review article, this study does not present original experimental data and therefore cannot definitively prove causation for any specific Long COVID mechanism. The review acknowledges that current evidence remains insufficient to establish clear diagnostic criteria or recommend specific treatments, and the heterogeneity of Long COVID means findings may not apply equally to all patients.
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 →
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Primary citation
Davis, Hannah E, McCorkell, Lisa, Vogel, Julia Moore, & Topol, Eric J (2023). Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations.. Nature reviews. Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00846-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-davis-2023-long-covid,
author = {Davis, Hannah E and McCorkell, Lisa and Vogel, Julia Moore and Topol, Eric J},
title = {Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations.},
journal = {Nature reviews. Microbiology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1038/s41579-022-00846-2},
note = {PubMed: 36639608},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/davis-2023-long-covid},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/davis-2023-long-covid
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