E2 ModerateCohortPEM requiredObservational
Post-exertional malaise in Long COVID: subjective reporting versus objective assessment.
Stussman, Barbara, Camarillo, Nathan, McCrossin, Gayle et al.·Frontiers in neurology·2025
This study looked at post-exertional malaise (PEM)—the symptom worsening that happens after activity—in people with Long COVID. Researchers asked patients about PEM symptoms and had some patients do an exercise test to see if PEM actually occurred. While 67% of patients reported having PEM symptoms, only 6% actually showed clear PEM after the exercise test. When PEM did occur in Long COVID, it was less severe than what the researchers saw in ME/CFS patients.
Severe MEPost-Exertional Malaise