Sukocheva, Olga A, Maksoud, Rebekah, Beeraka, Narasimha M et al. · Journal of advanced research · 2022 · DOI
This study compared long-term effects of COVID-19 infection (long-COVID) with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) to see how similar they are. Researchers found that many people who develop long-COVID experience the same symptoms as ME/CFS patients, including severe fatigue, brain fog, headaches, and worsening of symptoms after physical activity. The study suggests that COVID-19 may trigger a ME/CFS-like condition in some people through inflammatory processes in the body.
This study is important because it formally documents the clinical and mechanistic similarities between long-COVID and ME/CFS, potentially helping clinicians recognize and diagnose ME/CFS-like conditions in COVID-19 survivors. Understanding this overlap may accelerate research into shared pathological pathways, such as persistent inflammation and immune dysregulation, which could benefit both patient populations. The recognition of post-COVID-19 condition by the WHO as a distinct entity strengthens the case for ME/CFS research and legitimacy.
This systematic review does not establish that COVID-19 infection directly causes ME/CFS, only that symptom overlap exists—correlation is not causation. The study does not provide definitive prevalence rates of how many COVID-19 patients develop ME/CFS-like illness or confirm mechanistic causality. It also does not establish whether post-COVID-19 condition and ME/CFS share identical underlying pathophysiology versus appearing similar clinically while having different etiologies.
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
Sukocheva, Olga A, Maksoud, Rebekah, Beeraka, Narasimha M, Madhunapantula, SabbaRao V, Sinelnikov, Mikhail, Nikolenko, Vladimir N, et al. (2022). Analysis of post COVID-19 condition and its overlap with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of advanced research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2021.11.013
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sukocheva-2022-analysis-post,
author = {Sukocheva, Olga A and Maksoud, Rebekah and Beeraka, Narasimha M and Madhunapantula, SabbaRao V and Sinelnikov, Mikhail and Nikolenko, Vladimir N and Neganova, Margarita E and Klochkov, Sergey G and Amjad Kamal, Mohammad and Staines, Donald R and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {Analysis of post COVID-19 condition and its overlap with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of advanced research},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1016/j.jare.2021.11.013},
note = {PubMed: 36100326},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sukocheva-2022-analysis-post},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sukocheva-2022-analysis-post
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