https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21641846.2022.2162764 Research Article Pediatric Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection Leonard A. Jason, Madeline Johnson & Chelsea Torres Received 19 May 2022, Accepted 26 Jun 2022, Published online: 01 Jan 2023 ABSTRACT Aim Youth who have not recovered from COVID-19 have been referred to as having Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC). The goal of this study was to better understand which symptoms persisted since onset of infection and how these symptoms compare to symptoms experienced by those with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Method A sample of 19 parents who had a child with PASC were recruited using social media to fill out a questionnaire detailing symptoms at two time points. The first time point included their child’s current symptoms and the second captured symptoms at initial infection. These participants were compared to a sample of 19 youth with ME/CFS. Results Findings indicated significant decreases among several immune, neuroendocrine, pain, post-exertional malaise (PEM), and COVID-19 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) domain symptoms from time of acute infection to time of current reporting. Fatigue remained at a high level as did several symptoms within the sleep and PEM domains. Participants with ME/CFS had overall worse symptomatology when compared to participants with PASC, especially in the neurocognitive domain. Conclusion Most symptoms of those with PASC decline over time, but several remain at high levels, including fatigue. These findings are helpful in better understanding common symptom presentation profiles for youth with PASC and can be used to more adequately tailor diagnostic criteria and treatment strategies for youth. PASC Long-Haulers COVID-19 SARS CoV-2 virus Public Health Significance chronic fatigue syndrome myalgic encephalomyelitis
Data for 19 young people (as filtered through the awareness of their parents - with those parents volunteering through social media) is not anywhere near enough to be making this statement. The results will be totally skewed by how many young people with non-improving symptoms there were in the sample.
I have only read the abstract. I agree with Hutan that such small samples and social media recruitment make this data completely unreliable for such comparisons. I am surprised it got published and Jason put his name to it.