Plaut, Shiloh · Journal of translational medicine · 2026 · DOI
This systematic review examined published studies on fibromyalgia-like symptoms that develop after mild COVID-19 infection. Researchers searched medical databases and found 228 studies reporting overlap between long COVID, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia, but noted that different studies use inconsistent definitions and methods, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. The causes of these overlapping conditions remain unclear.
This review maps the evidence landscape on fibromyalgia-type presentations in post-COVID illness, a condition that shares clinical features with ME/CFS. By analogy, the methodological inconsistencies and mechanistic uncertainties documented here may also apply to ME/CFS research, highlighting the need for standardized case definitions and rigorous study designs in post-viral syndrome research. Understanding the overlap between these overlapping functional-somatic syndromes may inform future research directions relevant to ME/CFS.
This scoping review does not establish causation between SARS-CoV-2 infection and fibromyalgia manifestations; it maps existing evidence only. It does not identify a single validated mechanism or confirm which proposed pathways (central sensitization, autoimmunity, viral persistence) are operative. The review's conclusions are limited by the methodological heterogeneity and quality issues in the underlying literature, and findings may not generalise beyond the cohorts in reviewed studies.
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
Plaut, Shiloh (2026). A systematic scoping review and conceptual analysis of new-onset fibromyalgia manifestations after non-hospitalized COVID-19: empirics, definitions, methodologies, pathophysiology, mapping of literature, and knowledge gaps.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-026-08145-7
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-plaut-2026-systematic-scoping,
author = {Plaut, Shiloh},
title = {A systematic scoping review and conceptual analysis of new-onset fibromyalgia manifestations after non-hospitalized COVID-19: empirics, definitions, methodologies, pathophysiology, mapping of literature, and knowledge gaps.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-026-08145-7},
note = {PubMed: 42174645},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/plaut-2026-systematic-scoping},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/plaut-2026-systematic-scoping
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.