Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec;18(4):901-910.
doi: 10.1177/17423953211043106. Epub 2021 Sep 20.

Patient perceptions of infectious illnesses preceding Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Leonard A Jason  1 , Samuel Yoo  1 , Shaun Bhatia  1
Affiliations

Patient perceptions of infectious illnesses preceding Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Leonard A Jason et al. Chronic Illn. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is often reported to be caused by an infectious agent. However, it is unclear whether one infectious agent might be the cause or whether there might be many different infectious agents. The objective of this study was to identify self-reported infectious illnesses associated with the onset of ME/CFS.

Methods: The present study involved data from multiple sites in several countries. 1773 individuals diagnosed with either ME, CFS or ME/CFS provided qualitative data concerning infectious triggers which were coded and classified for analysis.

Results: 60.3% of patients report a variety of infectious illnesses some time before onset of ME/CFS. The most frequently reported infectious illness was Mononucleosis, which occurred in 30% of infections. However, over 100 other infectious illnesses were mentioned.

Discussion: The findings suggest that many infectious agents might be associated with the onset of ME/CFS.

Keywords: Chronic fatigue syndrome; ME/CFS; infectious illness; mononucleosis; myalgic encephalomyelitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Most commonly endorsed infectious triggers. Note: Infectious triggers reported by >1% of participants (N = 1069).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fukuda K, Straus SE, Hickie I, et al. The chronic fatigue syndrome: a comprehensive approach to its definition and study. Ann Intern Med 1994; 121: 953–959. - PubMed
    1. Carruthers BM, Jain AK, De Meirleir KL, et al. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: clinical working case definition, diagnostic and treatment protocols. J Chronic Fatigue Syndr 2003; 11: 7–115.
    1. Institute of Medicine. Beyond myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: redefining an illness. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2015. - PubMed
    1. Underhill RA. Myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome: an infectious disease. Med Hypotheses 2015; 85: 765–773. - PubMed
    1. Komaroff AL, Fagioli LR, Doolittle TH, et al. Health status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and in general population and disease comparison groups. Am J Med 1996; 101: 281–290. - PubMed

Publication types