Jason, Leonard A, Johnson, Madeline, Torres, Chelsea · Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior · 2023 · DOI
This study compared young people recovering from long COVID (PASC) with young people who have ME/CFS to understand how their symptoms differ. Researchers asked 19 parents about their child's symptoms during initial COVID infection and again later, then compared these to 19 young people with ME/CFS. Most PASC symptoms improved over time, but fatigue and sleep problems stayed high—similar to what ME/CFS patients experience.
This research helps clarify how long COVID presentations in youth overlap with and diverge from ME/CFS, supporting better diagnostic distinctions and tailored treatment approaches. Understanding symptom persistence patterns—especially fatigue and PEM—provides evidence that can improve clinical recognition and management of both conditions in pediatric populations.
This study does not establish causation or biological mechanisms underlying symptom persistence. The small sample size (n=19 per group) and reliance on parental questionnaire recall without objective clinical assessment limit generalizability. Cross-sectional design means we cannot determine long-term recovery trajectories or identify predictors of symptom resolution.
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
Jason, Leonard A, Johnson, Madeline, & Torres, Chelsea (2023). Pediatric Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.. Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/21641846.2022.2162764
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jason-2023-pediatric-post,
author = {Jason, Leonard A and Johnson, Madeline and Torres, Chelsea},
title = {Pediatric Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.},
journal = {Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1080/21641846.2022.2162764},
note = {PubMed: 38044956},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-2023-pediatric-post},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-2023-pediatric-post
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