Non-specific symptoms and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome in patients with Lyme borreliosis: a prospective cohort study in Belgium (2016–2020)

Table 5 Any new or worsened PTLDS-related symptom (with impact on daily activities) in patients with Lyme borreliosis compared to controls at 6 and 12 months follow-up, HUMTICK study, Belgium, 2016–2020

Time point	EM N (%)	DISS N (%)	Controls N (%)	EM vs. controls		DISS vs. controls
Time point	EM N (%)	DISS N (%)	Controls N (%)	RR (95% CI)	P-value	RR (95% CI)	P-value
Total N
6 months	120	15	128
12 months	94	11	81
Any new/worse symptom^a^,^b
6 months	24 (20.0)	7 (46.7)	13.1 (10.2)	1.96 (1.04–3.69)	0.036	4.58 (2.15–9.73)	< 0.001
12 months	21 (22.3)	7 (63.6)	9 (11.1)	2.01 (0.97–4.16)	0.060	5.73 (2.65–12.39)	< 0.001
Any new/worse symptom^a^,^b and impact daily activities^c
6 months	9 (7.5)	4 (26.7)	4.2 (3.3)	2.27 (0.72–7.19)	0.163	8.07 (2.23–29.22)	0.002
12 months	8 (8.5)	4 (36.4)	5 (6.2)	1.38 (0.47–4.08)	0.560	5.89 (1.83–18.98)	0.003

EM erythema migrans, DISS disseminated/late Lyme borreliosis, N number, RR risk ratio, CI confidence interval
^aAt least one of the following: muscle pain, joint pain, fatigue, memory difficulties, concentration difficulties or difficulties finding words
^bSymptom reported as regularly present since the previous questionnaire, worsened compared to health before Lyme borreliosis and worsened score on standardized questionnaire for the symptom present (past 4 weeks)
^cLimited on the modified GALI and having at least slight problems with daily activities on the standardized questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L, 3th question, past 4 weeks)

ISSN: 1471-2334