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Updated: Jan 8, 2026
Author Spotlight: Controlled Human Exposure Model for Tick Research and Lyme Disease Studies
Published on: December 1, 2023
Musculoskeletal and neurologic outcomes in patients with previously treated Lyme disease
N A Shadick1, C B Phillips, O Sangha
1Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Background:
Previous follow-up studies of patients with Lyme disease suggest that disseminated infection may be associated with long-term neurologic and musculoskeletal morbidity.
Objective:
To determine clinical and functional outcomes in persons who were treated for Lyme disease in the late 1980s.
Design:
Population-based, retrospective cohort study.
Setting:
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
Participants:
186 persons who had a history of Lyme disease (case-patients) and 167 persons who did not (controls).
Measurements:
Standardized medical history, physical examination, functional status measure (Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey [SF-36]), mood state assessment (Profile of Mood States), neurocognitive tests, and serologic examination.
Results:
The prevalence of Lyme disease among adults on Nantucket Island was estimated to be 14.3% (95% CI, 9.3% to 19.1%). In multivariate analyses, persons with previous Lyme disease (mean time from infection to study evaluation, 6.0 years) had more joint pain (odds ratio for having joint pain in any joint, 2.1 [CI, 1.2 to 3.5]; P = 0.007), more symptoms of memory impairment (odds ratio for having any memory problem, 1.9 [CI, 1.1 to 3.5]; P = 0.003), and poorer functional status due to pain (odds ratio for 1 point on the SF-36 scale, 1.02 [CI, 1.01 to 1.03]; P < 0.001) than persons without previous Lyme disease. However, on physical examination, case-patients and controls did not differ in musculoskeletal abnormalities, neurologic abnormalities, or neurocognitive performance. Persons with previous Lyme disease who had persistent symptoms after receiving treatment (n = 67) were more likely than those who had completely recovered to have had fever, headache, photosensitivity, or neck stiffness during their acute illness (87% compared with 13%; odds ratio, 2.4 [CI, 1.0 to 5.5]; P = 0.045); however, the performance of the two groups on neurocognitive tests did not significantly differ.
Conclusions:
Because persons with previous Lyme disease exhibited no sequelae on physical examination and neurocognitive tests a mean of 6.0 years after infection, musculoskeletal and neurocognitive outcomes seem to be favorable. However, long-term impairment of functional status can occur.
