Table 1 Characteristics and self-reported questionnaires in chronic Q fever patients, QFS patients and control groups
| Â | Â | Chronic Q fever | Control group | p-value | QFS | Control group | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 30) | (n = 23) |  | (n = 32) | (n = 21) |  | ||
Age (in years) | mean (SD) | 71 (8.2) | 67 (7.4) | 0.042 | 49 (12.6) | 57 (10.5) | 0.011 |
Gender (male) | n (%) | 24 (80.0%) | 17 (73.9%) | 0.600 | 16 (50.0%) | 11 (52.4%) | 0.865 |
Educational level | |||||||
 Low | n (%) | 12 (40.0%) | 6 (26.1%) | 0.561 | 8 (25.0%) | 7 (33.3%) | 0.488 |
 Middle | n (%) | 9 (30.0%) | 8 (34.8%) |  | 16 (50.0%) | 7 (33.3%) |  |
 High | n (%) | 9 (30.0%) | 9 (39.1%) |  | 8 (25.0%) | 7 (33.3%) |  |
Premorbid IQ a | mean (SD) | 93.5 (16.6) | 102.9 (14.4) | 0.034 | 90.4 (11.8) | 97.8 (14.5) | 0.050 |
Poor performance validity b | n (%) | 11 (37.9%) | 3 (14.3%) | 0.066 | 5 (16.1%) | 4 (21.1%) | 0.660 |
Self-reported questionnaires | |||||||
 Fatigue | mean (SD) | 30.3 (12.1) | 20.3 (9.4) | 0.002 | 44.7 (7.6) | 24.5 (13.6) | < 0.001 |
 Depressive symptoms | mean (SD) | 1.6 (2.4) | 1.1 (1.9) | 0.439 | 3.3 (3.1) | 1.6 (3.2) | 0.066 |
 Cognitive complaints | mean (SD) | 25.3 (10.0) | 27.8 (11.6) | 0.394 | 41.2 (17.7) | 30.4 (14.2) | 0.023 |