Dolphin
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Journal Article
Long COVID versus FM/CFS/ME: overlap and differences in patient-reported burden
D Lerma-Irureta ,R Magallón-Botaya ,
F Méndez-López ,
B Olivan-Blázquez
European Journal of Public Health, Volume 36, Issue Supplement_5, October 2026, ckag169.1137,
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1137
Published:
26 October 2026
Abstract
Background
Long COVID shares prominent symptoms with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (FM/CFS/ME), but the extent of overlap and separation in patient-reported and functional burden is still unclear. We compared both groups against recovered controls.Methods
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the ARALONGCOV database in Aragon, Spain, including long COVID cases, FM/CFS/ME participants and recovered controls. We compared SF-12, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), PHQ-9 and 6-minute walk distance using available data in each domain.Results
Both long COVID and FM/CFS/ME showed substantially worse outcomes than controls. Median SF-12 scores were 32.1 in long COVID, 20.4 in FM/CFS/ME and 87.5 in controls. Median FSS scores were 57, 61 and 6, respectively; median PSQI scores were 12, 14 and 6; median PHQ-9 scores were 12, 15 and 1; and median 6-minute walk distances were 440 m, 418 m and 541.5 m. Global between-group differences were highly significant across all domains (all p < 0.001). Compared directly with long COVID, FM/CFS/ME participants showed poorer quality of life, higher fatigue, poorer sleep, more depressive symptoms and lower exercise capacity, although both groups were markedly more impaired than controls.Conclusions
Long COVID and FM/CFS/ME showed overlapping multidimensional burden, with FM/CFS/ME generally more severely affected. These findings support a comparative framework for studying shared and distinct mechanisms, while highlighting the substantial functional impact of long COVID in primary care.Key messages
• Long COVID and FM/CFS/ME showed marked overlap in multidimensional burden, with both groups far more impaired than controls.• FM/CFS/ME was generally more severely affected, supporting comparative research on shared and distinct mechanisms.
