Mononucleosis may increase the risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome in teenagers, according to a study.
Previous studies suggested that about one in ten adults with acute infectious mononucleosis go on to develop chronic fatigue syndrome, Dr. Ben Z. Katz, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues write.
Katz and other researchers monitored more than 300 teenagers with the disease. About 13 percent of the original study developed chronic fatigue syndrome. At a 12-month follow-up visit, 7 percent had chronic fatigue syndrome, and at 24 months, chronic fatigue syndrome persisted in 4 percent.
"As part of our study, we also followed a group of adolescents who completely recovered from their mononucleosis," Dr. Katz told Reuters Health.
"We are now in the process of trying to figure out what differentiates adolescents who recover from those who don't," he said.
