Kaleem, Shayaan, Sawano, Mitsuaki, Arun, Adith S et al. · Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026 · DOI
This study looked at eye problems in people with long COVID, comparing those who developed new eye symptoms (like blurred vision, dry eyes, or floaters) after infection with those who didn't. About 57% of the 595 participants reported new eye symptoms. People with eye symptoms had worse overall health, more financial struggles, and were more likely to have dysautonomia (problems with blood pressure and heart rate control) and ME/CFS.
Many ME/CFS and long COVID patients report eye problems but this symptom receives limited clinical attention. This study demonstrates that ocular symptoms may mark a more severe disease subtype with greater autonomic dysfunction, suggesting eye problems warrant systematic evaluation and may serve as clinical indicators of disease severity.
This cross-sectional study cannot establish causation or determine whether ocular symptoms are directly caused by viral infection, dysautonomia, or other mechanisms. The study relied entirely on self-reported symptoms without objective eye examination or imaging, so the actual prevalence and nature of underlying ocular pathology remain unknown. Correlation between ocular symptoms and dysautonomia does not prove one causes the other.
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
Kaleem, Shayaan, Sawano, Mitsuaki, Arun, Adith S, Warner, Fred, Zhou, Tianna, Huang, Chenxi, et al. (2026). Ocular Symptoms in Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study.. Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.). https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S565596
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kaleem-2026-ocular-symptoms,
author = {Kaleem, Shayaan and Sawano, Mitsuaki and Arun, Adith S and Warner, Fred and Zhou, Tianna and Huang, Chenxi and Bhattacharjee, Bornali and Lu, Yuan and Iwasaki, Akiko and Nwanyanwu, Kristen and Ahmed, Iqbal Ike K and Krumholz, Harlan M},
title = {Ocular Symptoms in Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study.},
journal = {Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.2147/OPTH.S565596},
note = {PubMed: 41907807},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kaleem-2026-ocular-symptoms},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kaleem-2026-ocular-symptoms
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