Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41496460›Full record

ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2026

Pre-pandemic care-seeking patterns and subsequent diagnoses of post-COVID condition, post viral fatigue syndrome, and exhaustion disorder: a registry-based cohort study of 208,050 Swedish women.

Agnes Af Geijerstam, Kirsten Mehlig, Fredrik Nyberg, Annika Rosengren, Ailiana Santosa, Maria Åberg, Lauren Lissner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Agnes Af GeijerstamSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-0897-6548
Kirsten MehligSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-2653-0734
Fredrik NybergSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-0892-5668
Annika RosengrenDepartment of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5409-6605
Ailiana SantosaSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-1848-2867
Maria ÅbergSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-0323-1061
Lauren LissnerSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-8296-2849

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWomen are disproportionately diagnosed with symptom-based conditions, notably post-COVID condition (PCC). In Sweden, as of February 2022, 2.3% of PCR-verified female COVID-19 cases versus 1.6% of male cases had a PCC diagnosis. Post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) and exhaustion disorder (ED), a common and relevant diagnosis in Sweden, share substantial symptom overlap with PCC.

aimsTo quantify the association between pre-pandemic, symptom-based primary-care visits and subsequent PCC, PVFS, and ED among adult women, adjusting for risk factors for severe COVID-19.

methodsWe conducted a registry-based prospective cohort study of 208,050 women from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, linked to primary-care data and national sociodemographic registers. The exposure was the frequency of visits for predefined symptom-based conditions during 2015-2019. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for diagnoses in 2020-2024 were estimated using logistic regression controlling for BMI, education, age, and region of birth.

resultsAcross 2,431,182 primary-care physician visits, 19% were symptom-based. Women with >8 such visits had higher odds of all three outcomes: PCC (OR 5.45, 95% CI 4.43-6.71), PVFS (OR 7.71, 95% CI 5.97-9.96), and ED (OR 5.32, 95% CI 4.84-5.85). Pre-pandemic BMI and education were not associated with PCC or PVFS but showed some association with ED. Still, 17% of women with PCC had no recorded symptom-based visits before the pandemic.

conclusionsPre-pandemic symptom-based primary-care visits were strongly associated with higher risk of PCC, PVFS, and ED in a dose-dependent way, but modest discrimination underscores heterogeneous individual risk. Patterns suggest other influences alongside biological susceptibility.

Indexed as

COVID-19Fatigue Syndrome, ChronicPatient Acceptance of Health CarePrimary Health CareAdultAgedFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeProspective StudiesRegistriesRisk FactorsSARS-CoV-2SwedenYoung Adultcare-seeking behaviourexhaustion disorderPost-COVID conditionpost-viral fatigue syndromeprimary-care utilizationSwedenwomen’s health

Identifiers

PMID41496460
PMCPMC12781934

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.