{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T03:09:02Z","timestamp":1772248142497,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]],"date-time":"2022-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663286400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A sizeable sub-group of individuals continue to experience persistent debilitating symptoms post-acute SARS-CoV-2. Although these can vary from person to person, fatigue appears to be the most common symptom. Post-viral fatigue has been documented in conditions such as influenza, infectious mononucleosis and more recently chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The current study uses measures that successfully describe the fatigue-related symptoms associated with CFS to investigate the fatigue experienced post-acute SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-six volunteers were recruited from Long COVID support groups active on social media. Data were collected anonymously using an online survey platform. These data were compared to pre-pandemic data from non-fatigued and CFS groups. The post-acute SARS-CoV-2 volunteers reported significantly higher levels of fatigue and cognitive difficulties than the non-fatigued controls. They also report more individual symptoms (such as lack of concentration) and problems with sleep quality. There was a similarity between the post-acute SARS-CoV-2 volunteers and the CFS group in terms of levels of depression, perceived stress, emotional distress and cognitive difficulties. Although this was a small-scale study, it demonstrates the range of symptoms experienced post-acute SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the similarities between this group and CFS suggests the need for further research into the mechanisms at play here, the need to identify those at risk of long-term symptoms and the development of possible interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191811662","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]],"date-time":"2022-09-16T03:48:04Z","timestamp":1663300084000},"page":"11662","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["The Fatigue-Related Symptoms Post-Acute SARS-CoV-2: A Preliminary Comparative Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6795-8008","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marie","family":"Thomas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Reader in Psychology, Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath BA2 9BN, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.12603","article-title":"Persistent symptoms in patients after acute COVID-19","volume":"324","author":"Carfi","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"The Royal Society (2022, July 27). 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