Anna-Lisa Sorg, Selina Becht, Marietta Jank u. a.: Association of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents in Germany, in: JAMA Network Open Vol. 5, Issue 9 (September 27, 2022) p. e2233454, online in: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33454.
Key Points
The authors asked, if SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity is associated with symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in children and adolescents.
In their cross-sectional study of hospital-based SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence surveys in Germany the authors compared seropositive and seronegative children and adolescents and identified an excess of possible ME/CFS symptoms with serological evidence of preceding SARS-CoV-2 infection. This association almost disappeared with adjustment for confounders and restriction to children and adolescents unaware of preceding infection.
The findings suggest that the risk of ME/CFS after SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents may be small and that recall bias may contribute to risk estimates.