Skip to main content

Incidence of Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue Increased Significantly After COVID-19 Infection

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 21, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 21, 2024 -- COVID-19 is associated with a significantly increased risk for fatigue and chronic fatigue, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Quan M. Vu, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the incidence rates of post-COVID-19 fatigue and chronic fatigue by analyzing electronic health record data for 4,589 patients with confirmed COVID-19 during February 2020 to February 2021 and 9,022 propensity score-matched non-COVID-19 controls. Patients were followed for a median of 11.4 months.

The researchers found that the incidence rate of fatigue and chronic fatigue was 10.2 and 1.8 per 100 person-years, respectively, among COVID-19 patients. The hazard ratios were 1.68 and 4.32 for fatigue and chronic fatigue, respectively, compared with non-COVID-19 controls.

"Our data indicate that COVID-19 is associated with a significant increase in new fatigue diagnoses, and physicians should be aware that fatigue might occur or be newly recognized more than one year after acute COVID-19," the authors write. "The high incidence rates of fatigue reinforce the need for public health actions to prevent infections, to provide clinical care to those in need, and to find effective treatments for post-acute COVID-19 fatigue."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Sleep Restriction Tied to Negative Cognitive Effects in Teens With Overweight, Obesity

WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 -- Adolescents with overweight or obesity may be more vulnerable to negative cognitive effects following sleep restriction, according to a study published...

Late Bedtime, Irregular Sleep Tied to Academic Problems in Teens

WEDNESDAY, April 10, 2024 -- Later sleep timing and greater sleep variability are risk factors for certain academic problems among adolescents, according to a study published...

Millions in United States May Hear Gunshots at Night

TUESDAY, April 9, 2024 -- The sound of nighttime gunshots potentially impacts millions of people in U.S. cities, according to a study published online April 2 in the Journal...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.