Chronic fatigue following infection by Coxiella burnetii (Q fever): ten‐year follow‐up of the 1989 UK outbreak cohort

• Published in: QJM : An International Journal of Medicine 2002-08, Vol.95 (8), p.527-538
• Main Authors: WILDMAN, M.J., SMITH, E.G., GROVES, J., BEATTIE, J.M., CAUL, E.O., AYRES, J.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Chronic Disease; England - epidemiology; Fatigue - epidemiology; Fatigue - microbiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Q Fever - complications; Q Fever - epidemiology; Rickettsial diseases; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tropical bacterial diseases; Tropical medicine
• ISSN: 1460-2725; 1460-2393; 1460-2393
• DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/95.8.527

Background: Some patients exposed to Q fever (Coxiella burnetii infection) may develop chronic fatigue. Aim: To determine whether subjects involved in the West Midlands Q fever outbreak of 1989 had increased fatigue, compared to non‐exposed controls, 10 years after exposure. Design: Matched cohort study comparing cases to age‐, sex‐ and smoking‐history‐matched controls not exposed to Q fever. Methods: A postal questionnaire was sent to subjects at home, followed by further assessment in hospital, including a physical examination and blood tests. Results: Of 108 Q‐exposed subjects, 70 (64.8%) had fatigue, 37 idiopathic chronic fatigue (ICF) (34.3%), vs. 29/80 (36.3%) and 12 (15.0%), respectively, in controls. In 77 matched pairs, fatigue was commoner in Q‐exposed subjects than in controls: 50 (64.9%) vs. 27 (35.1%), p