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The International Collaborative on Fatigue Following Infection (COFFI).

Murph

:)
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Fatigue. 2018;6(2):106-121. doi: 10.1080/21641846.2018.1426086. Epub 2018 Jan 19.
The International Collaborative on Fatigue Following Infection (COFFI).
Katz BZ1, Collin SM2, Murphy G3, Moss-Morris R4, Wyller VB5, Wensaas KA6, Hautvast JLA7, Bleeker-Rovers CP8, Vollmer-Conna U9, Buchwald D10, Taylor R11, Little P12, Crawley E12, White PD13, Lloyd A14.
Author information

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
The purpose of the Collaborative on Fatigue Following Infection (COFFI) is for investigators of post-infection fatigue (PIF) and other syndromes to collaborate on these enigmatic and poorly understood conditions by studying relatively homogeneous populations with known infectious triggers. Utilizing COFFI, pooled data and stored biosamples will support both epidemiological and laboratory research to better understand the etiology and risk factors for development and progression of PIF.

METHODS:
COFFI consists of prospective cohorts from the UK, Netherlands, Norway, USA, New Zealand and Australia, with some cohorts closed and some open to recruitment. The 9 cohorts closed to recruitment total over 3,000 participants, including nearly 1000 with infectious mononucleosis (IM), > 500 with Q fever, > 800 with giardiasis, > 600 with campylobacter gastroenteritis (CG), 190 with Legionnaires disease and 60 with Ross River virus. Follow-ups have been at least 6 months and up to 10 years. All studies use the Fukuda criteria for defining chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

RESULTS:
Preliminary analyses indicated that risk factors for non-recovery from PIF included lower physical fitness, female gender, severity of the acute sickness response, and autonomic dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS:
COFFI (https://internationalcoffi.wordpress.com/) is an international collaboration which should be able to answer questions based on pooled data that are not answerable in the individual cohorts. Possible questions may include the following: Do different infectious triggers different PIF syndromes (e.g., CFS vs. irritable bowel syndrome)?; What are longitudinal predictors of PIF and its severity?

PMID:

30666281

PMCID:

PMC6333416

DOI:

10.1080/21641846.2018.1426086
 

Murph

:)
Messages
1,799
Just in recent days - after posting a thread about outbreaks - I've started to think about me/cfs differently - as part of a group of post-infectious illnesses. More like an island in an archipelago than one isolated in the middle of the ocean.

This way of looking at it could help drag in money be the future of research into the illness. In that sense this COFFI idea could be good.

However I note that some of the researchers involved are Britons with a history of doing psych research I expect many patients will oppose this project because of that. I get that. It is probably the safest approach. I'm cursed with relentless optimism I guess because i continue to hold out hope that they have changed or are changing their views as evidence comes to light.