Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41505364›Full record

ArticleRespiration; international review of thoracic diseases2026

Lung Function Impairment after Mild SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Previously Healthy Individuals.

Thomas Bahmer, Anne-Kathrin Ruß, Lennart Michel Reinke, Sabrina Ballhausen-Lübcker, Alin Viebke, Carolin Nürnberger, Anna Schäfer, Stefan Störk, Peter U Heuschmann, Thomas Zoller and 13 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases, 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
–field-weighted citation impact
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

23 authors.

Thomas BahmerDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany, t.bahmer@email.uni-kiel.de.
Anne-Kathrin RußInstitute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Kiel University, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Lennart Michel ReinkeDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Sabrina Ballhausen-LübckerDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Alin ViebkeDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Carolin NürnbergerInstitute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Anna SchäferInstitute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Stefan StörkDepartment of Clinical Research and Epidemiology at the Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Peter U HeuschmannInstitute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Thomas ZollerDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Martin WitzenrathDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Lilian KristInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Thomas KeilInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Ekaterina HeimTrusted Third Party of the University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Sina M PützDepartment I of Internal Medicine, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Jörg Janne VehreschildInstitute for Digital Medicine and Clinical Data Science, Faculty of Medicine, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
Wolfgang LiebInstitute of Epidemiology, Kiel University, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Michael KrawczakInstitute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Kiel University, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Klaus F RabeAirway Research Center North (ARCN), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Großhansdorf, Germany.
Espen Elias GrothAirway Research Center North (ARCN), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Großhansdorf, Germany.
Stefan SchreiberDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Jan HeyckendorfDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Mustafa AbdoDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

<p>Introduction: The physiological basis for dyspnea, a hallmark of post-COVID syndrome (PCS), remains poorly understood.

methodsIn this analysis of the prospective, multicenter, population-based, longitudinal COVIDOM study, we studied 936 previously healthy adults assessed ≥6 months after a mostly mild, PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Participants underwent comprehensive pulmonary function testing including spirometry, body plethysmography, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, and airwave oscillometry. Dyspnea was assessed by questionnaires (mMRC ≥1/MDP-A1 domain ≥1). We performed cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses for lung function in relation to both dyspnea and a previously defined PCS severity score (PCS-S).

resultsBetween 11/2020 and 05/2023, we examined 936 previously healthy COVIDOM participants (median age 37 [IQR 28-51], 56% female). Dyspnea prevalence increased significantly with PCS severity (low PCS-S: 19.3%; intermediate PCS-S: 53.8%; high PCS-S: 81.8%; p < 0.001). Women suffered more frequently from dyspnea and PCS. Small airway dysfunction (SAD), as indicated by abnormal R5-20 Hz or AX5 Hz measures, tended to be more frequent in participants with high PCS severity and dyspnea compared to those with low PCS and no dyspnea (37% vs. 25%, p = 0.058) with corresponding R5-20 Hz of 0.03 [0.01-0.07] vs. 0.01 [0-0.03] kPa·L-1·s-1 (p < 0.01). Longitudinally, however, none of the baseline or follow-up lung function parameters, including measures of SAD, differed between participants with persistent dyspnea and those who became asymptomatic.

conclusionOscillometry-derived R5-R20 Hz differed significantly between dyspneic PCS patients and controls. The high frequency of SAD and the absence of longitudinal improvement might indicate the potential clinical relevance of SAD assessment, despite its only numeric differences between PCS severity groups. </p>.

Indexed as

COVID-19DyspneaLungAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeProspective StudiesRespiratory Function TestsSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexSpirometryAirway physiologyDyspneaEpidemiologyPost-COVID syndromeSARS-CoV-2 infectionSmall airway dysfunction

Identifiers

PMID41505364
PMCPMC12890270

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.