Hong Kong SARS survivors 4-year follow-up (Lam)

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Design notes & limitations. Cross-sectional 4-year follow-up of the 2003 SARS-CoV-1 survivors, showing high rates of chronic fatigue and a subset meeting CFS criteria years after the acute illness. A single-timepoint survivor survey with no acute-phase or unexposed comparison, but historically important as a coronavirus antecedent to Long COVID.

Identity & trigger

Cohort id: lam-2009-sars-survivors
Aliases: SARS survivors long-term follow-up
Outbreak / event: SARS outbreak 2003 (Hong Kong)
Pathogen: SARS-CoV-1 (Virus)
Exposure ascertainment: clinical diagnosis

Design

Design: Cross-sectional
Denominator defined: Partial
Denominator method: Survivors of laboratory/clinically diagnosed SARS from the 2003 Hong Kong outbreak, assessed at a single 4-year follow-up.
Recruitment: hospital
Time zero: Acute SARS illness in 2003 (year)
Control group: None

Size & attrition

Enrolled: 233
Analysed / enrolled: 181/233 (78%)
Max follow-up (months): 48

Biospecimens

Specimens: No
Types: none
Acute-phase specimens: No
Biobank: N/A
External access: N/A

Observations (2)

Symptoms

40.3% Proportion

Measure: Fatigue sym:fatigue
As worded: “chronic fatigue at ~4 years after SARS”
Population: whole cohort · denominator Assessed at timepoint · N=n=181
Timing: 48 mo (24 mo+) · ref Not reported
Method: Unclear
Comparator: no comparator
Comparability signature: 802865415c — measure sym:fatigue · Unclear · ref Not reported · denom Assessed at timepoint · 24 mo+ · Proportion
Provenance: Results (40.3% chronic fatigue) · Manual · verified OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source) on 2026-07-20

Case definitions

27.1% Proportion

Measure: Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME-CFS caseness case-def:cfs
As worded: “met modified CDC criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome at ~4 years after SARS”
Population: whole cohort · denominator Assessed at timepoint · N=n=181
Timing: 48 mo (24 mo+) · ref Not reported
Method: Unclear
Comparator: no comparator
Comparability signature: e9745ef12a — measure case-def:cfs · Unclear · ref Not reported · denom Assessed at timepoint · 24 mo+ · Proportion
Provenance: Results (27.1% met CFS criteria) · Manual · verified OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source) on 2026-07-20

Publications

Lam MH, Wing YK, Yu MW, et al. (2009). Mental morbidities and chronic fatigue in severe acute respiratory syndrome survivors: long-term follow-up. Archives of Internal Medicine. PMID 20008700 · DOI 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.384 primary

Provenance & verification

Registration: n/r
Funders: not reported
Related cohorts: none
Symptom-inventory scope: Targeted panel
Last verified: 2026-07-20 — OSMF research-tracker (web-verified against source)