Olsson-Åkefeldt, S, Luthander, J, Anmyr, L et al. · Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025 · DOI
This study looked at 113 children and teenagers who visited a specialized clinic for suspected long COVID symptoms. The researchers found that about half of the children had antibodies showing they had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, while the other half did not. Most children reported multiple symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, and nausea, and these symptoms were similar whether or not they had evidence of past COVID infection. Many children were missing school and had to stop doing activities they enjoyed.
This study is important because it demonstrates that long COVID-like symptoms in children may not always be directly linked to documented SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting diverse underlying mechanisms. For ME/CFS researchers, this finding highlights the need to investigate whether post-viral syndromes share common pathophysiological pathways regardless of the initial infectious trigger, informing diagnosis and treatment approaches.
This study does not prove that seronegative children were never infected with SARS-CoV-2 (antibodies fade and some infections may not generate detectable responses). It also does not establish causation or identify the biological mechanisms causing symptoms in either group. As a cross-sectional study, it cannot determine whether symptoms preceded, followed, or were unrelated to infection.
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
Olsson-Åkefeldt, S, Luthander, J, Anmyr, L, Villard, L, Arnason, S, Kemani, M K, et al. (2025). Poor Association Between Clinical Characteristics and Seropositivity in Children With Suspected Long COVID-A Single-Centre Study.. Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.70034
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-olsson-kefeldt-2025-poor-association,
author = {Olsson-Åkefeldt, S and Luthander, J and Anmyr, L and Villard, L and Arnason, S and Kemani, M K and Wållgren, E and Röstlund, S and Tingborn, M and Pettersson, M and George, E and Ryd-Rinder, M and Hertting, O},
title = {Poor Association Between Clinical Characteristics and Seropositivity in Children With Suspected Long COVID-A Single-Centre Study.},
journal = {Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1111/apa.70034},
note = {PubMed: 39968869},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/olsson-kefeldt-2025-poor-association},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/olsson-kefeldt-2025-poor-association
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