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Chicago adolescent post-mononucleosis cohort (Katz)

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Design notes & limitations. Strong prospective inception cohort in adolescents with laboratory-confirmed acute EBV mononucleosis and structured re-screening for CFS caseness at fixed timepoints. Shows a declining post-infective CFS rate over two years (13% -> 7% -> 4%), one of the cleanest demonstrations of resolving post-viral fatigue.

Identity & trigger

Cohort id
katz-2009-mononucleosis
Aliases
Northwestern adolescent IM/CFS cohort
Outbreak / event
n/r
Pathogen
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (Virus)
Exposure ascertainment
serology

Design

Design
Prospective (inception)
Denominator defined
Yes
Denominator method
Consecutive adolescents (12-18 y) with serologically confirmed acute infectious mononucleosis, enrolled at diagnosis and followed prospectively.
Recruitment
community
Time zero
Serologically confirmed acute infectious mononucleosis (month)
Control group
None

Size & attrition

Enrolled
301
Analysed / enrolled
301/301 (100%)
Max follow-up (months)
24

Biospecimens

Specimens
Yes
Types
serum
Acute-phase specimens
Yes
Biobank
Unknown
External access
Unknown

Observations (3)

Case definitions

13% Proportion

Measure
Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME-CFS caseness case-def:cfs
As worded
“met criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome 6 months after infectious mononucleosis”
Population
whole cohort · denominator Assessed at timepoint · N=n=301
Timing
6 mo (3-6 mo) · ref Not reported
Method
Unclear
Comparator
no comparator
Comparability signature
06f8f5f631 — measure case-def:cfs · Unclear · ref Not reported · denom Assessed at timepoint · 3-6 mo · Proportion
Provenance
Results/Abstract (13% at 6 months) · Manual · verified OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source) on 2026-07-20

7% Proportion

Measure
Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME-CFS caseness case-def:cfs
As worded
“met criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome 12 months after infectious mononucleosis”
Population
whole cohort · denominator Assessed at timepoint · N=n=301
Timing
12 mo (6-12 mo) · ref Not reported
Method
Unclear
Comparator
no comparator
Comparability signature
d33761e83d — measure case-def:cfs · Unclear · ref Not reported · denom Assessed at timepoint · 6-12 mo · Proportion
Provenance
Results/Abstract (7% at 12 months) · Manual · verified OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source) on 2026-07-20

4% Proportion

Measure
Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME-CFS caseness case-def:cfs
As worded
“met criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome 24 months after infectious mononucleosis”
Population
whole cohort · denominator Assessed at timepoint · N=n=301
Timing
24 mo (12-24 mo) · ref Not reported
Method
Unclear
Comparator
no comparator
Comparability signature
6e8b10a7a5 — measure case-def:cfs · Unclear · ref Not reported · denom Assessed at timepoint · 12-24 mo · Proportion
Provenance
Results/Abstract (4% at 24 months) · Manual · verified OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source) on 2026-07-20

Publications

Provenance & verification

Registration
n/r
Funders
National Institutes of Health (NIAID)
Related cohorts
none
Symptom-inventory scope
Single domain
Last verified
2026-07-20 — OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source)