Pricoco, Rafael, Meidel, Paulina, Hofberger, Tim et al. · Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023 · DOI
This study followed 25 young people (12 teenagers and 13 young adults) who developed ME/CFS after having infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr virus. Researchers checked on their symptoms and quality of life at the start, 6 months, and 12 months later. Teenagers showed better improvement over the year, with more than half no longer meeting ME/CFS criteria, while young adults continued to have severe symptoms with little improvement.
This study provides rare longitudinal evidence that ME/CFS triggered by EBV has significantly different outcomes depending on age at onset, suggesting adolescents may have better recovery potential than adults. The finding of a median 13.8-month diagnostic delay highlights critical gaps in medical recognition and supports the urgent need for better diagnostic tools and targeted treatments.
This study does not establish that EBV causes ME/CFS in all cases, only that it can trigger the condition in some young people. The lack of inflammatory markers and EBV correlation does not prove absence of biological dysfunction—it may reflect current limitations in detecting relevant pathophysiology. The small sample size and single-center design limit generalizability to broader populations.
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
Pricoco, Rafael, Meidel, Paulina, Hofberger, Tim, Zietemann, Hannah, Mueller, Yvonne, Wiehler, Katharina, et al. (2023). One-year follow-up of young people with ME/CFS following infectious mononucleosis by Epstein-Barr virus.. Frontiers in pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1266738
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pricoco-2023-one-year,
author = {Pricoco, Rafael and Meidel, Paulina and Hofberger, Tim and Zietemann, Hannah and Mueller, Yvonne and Wiehler, Katharina and Michel, Kaja and Paulick, Johannes and Leone, Ariane and Haegele, Matthias and Mayer-Huber, Sandra and Gerrer, Katrin and Mittelstrass, Kirstin and Scheibenbogen, Carmen and Renz-Polster, Herbert and Mihatsch, Lorenz and Behrends, Uta},
title = {One-year follow-up of young people with ME/CFS following infectious mononucleosis by Epstein-Barr virus.},
journal = {Frontiers in pediatrics},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fped.2023.1266738},
note = {PubMed: 38304441},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pricoco-2023-one-year},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pricoco-2023-one-year
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