Chronic fatigue syndrome is a common chronic health condition, especially for women, occurring across ethnic groups. Earlier findings suggesting that CFS is a syndrome primarily affecting white, middle-class patients were not supported by our findings.
Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is defined by symptoms and disability, has no confirmatory physical signs or characteristic laboratory abnormalities, and the etiology and pathophysiology remain unknown. Difficulties with accurate case ascertainment contribute to this ignorance.
The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has severely impacted the population worldwide with a great mortality rate. The current article reviews the literature on short-and long-term health consequences of prior epidemics and infections to assess potential health complications that may be associated with post-COVID-19 recovery. Past research on post-epidemic and postinfection recovery has suggested that such complications include the development of severe fatigue. Certain factors, such as the severity of infection, in addition to the 'cytokine storm' experienced by many COVID-19 patients, may contribute to the development of later health problems. We suggest that the patterns observed in past epidemics and infections may re-occur in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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