Körner, Robert Walter, Bansemir, Ole Yannick, Franke, Rosa et al. · Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023 · DOI
This study examined 28 children and teens who developed long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19 infection. The researchers found that most patients had allergies and unusually high levels of immune proteins called IgE, IgG3, and IgG4. About three in ten patients also met criteria for ME/CFS, experiencing severe fatigue, breathing problems, and post-exertional malaise (feeling worse after activity). Most patients gradually improved over about a year, though some took longer to recover.
This study provides evidence that specific immune dysregulation patterns—particularly elevated IgG3 and IgG4—may predispose children to develop ME/CFS as a complication of COVID-19. Understanding these immunological risk factors could help identify at-risk patients early and inform future therapeutic interventions targeting immune dysfunction in post-viral ME/CFS.
This observational study cannot establish causation or explain why certain immune patterns lead to ME/CFS development. The small sample size (n=28) and single-center design limit generalizability to broader pediatric populations. The study does not prove that elevated IgE, IgG3, or IgG4 directly cause PCC or ME/CFS, only that they correlate with these conditions.
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
Körner, Robert Walter, Bansemir, Ole Yannick, Franke, Rosa, Sturm, Julius, & Dafsari, Hormos Salimi (2023). Atopy and Elevation of IgE, IgG3, and IgG4 May Be Risk Factors for Post COVID-19 Condition in Children and Adolescents.. Children (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.3390/children10101598
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-krner-2023-atopy-elevation,
author = {Körner, Robert Walter and Bansemir, Ole Yannick and Franke, Rosa and Sturm, Julius and Dafsari, Hormos Salimi},
title = {Atopy and Elevation of IgE, IgG3, and IgG4 May Be Risk Factors for Post COVID-19 Condition in Children and Adolescents.},
journal = {Children (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/children10101598},
note = {PubMed: 37892261},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/krner-2023-atopy-elevation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/krner-2023-atopy-elevation
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.