Kim, Su-Jin, Kim, Jinhee · PloS one · 2026 · DOI
This study examined symptom patterns in 629 Korean adults with long COVID (persistent symptoms ≥12 weeks after COVID-19). Researchers identified four distinct groups: people with few symptoms, moderate multi-body symptoms, fatigue and post-exertional malaise-dominant symptoms, and severe multi-body symptoms. Quality of life decreased substantially as symptom burden increased. The findings are observational and reflect one population; whether they apply to ME/CFS remains unclear.
This study demonstrates that long COVID comprises heterogeneous symptom profiles with measurable impacts on quality of life, which by analogy may inform understanding of phenotypic heterogeneity in ME/CFS. The identification of a fatigue/post-exertional malaise-dominant subgroup (15.9% of the cohort) is potentially relevant to ME/CFS classification, though direct applicability to ME/CFS populations remains unclear and would require replication in ME/CFS-specific cohorts.
This study does not establish causation (cross-sectional design). It does not confirm that these symptom profiles are stable across time or generalizable beyond Korean PASC populations. It does not validate proposed mechanisms underlying symptom heterogeneity, nor does it provide evidence that tailored interventions (mentioned by authors) are effective—that claim requires controlled trials. Relevance to ME/CFS classification and management cannot be assumed without dedicated ME/CFS cohort analysis.
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
Kim, Su-Jin & Kim, Jinhee (2026). Symptom profiles and health-related quality of life in Korean adults with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): A latent profile analysis.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0351506
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kim-2026-symptom-profiles,
author = {Kim, Su-Jin and Kim, Jinhee},
title = {Symptom profiles and health-related quality of life in Korean adults with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC): A latent profile analysis.},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0351506},
note = {PubMed: 42302052},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kim-2026-symptom-profiles},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-06-17. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kim-2026-symptom-profiles
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.