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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Oct 20;17(10):e0276009.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276009. eCollection 2022.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cardiorespiratory fitness and neuromuscular function compared with healthy individuals

Fabio Zambolin  1   2 , Pablo Duro-Ocana  2   3   4 , Azmy Faisal  1   2   5 , Liam Bagley  2   3   4 , William J Gregory  6   7 , Arwel W Jones  8 , Jamie S McPhee  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cardiorespiratory fitness and neuromuscular function compared with healthy individuals

Fabio Zambolin et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: To determine cardiorespiratory fitness and neuromuscular function of people with CFS and FMS compared to healthy individuals.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources: PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, AMED, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and PEDro from inception to June 2022.

Eligible criteria for selecting studies: Studies were included if presenting baseline data on cardiorespiratory fitness and/or neuromuscular function from observational or interventional studies of patients diagnosed with FMS or CFS. Participants were aged 18 years or older, with results also provided for healthy controls. Risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (EPHPP).

Results: 99 studies including 9853 participants (5808 patients; 4405 healthy controls) met our eligibility criteria. Random effects meta-analysis showed lower cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max, anaerobic threshold, peak lactate) and neuromuscular function (MVC, fatigability, voluntary activation, muscle volume, muscle mass, rate of perceived exertion) in CFS and FMS compared to controls: all with moderate to high effect sizes.

Discussion: Our results demonstrate lower cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle function in those living with FMS or CFS when compared to controls. There were indications of dysregulated neuro-muscular interactions including heightened perceptions of effort, reduced ability to activate the available musculature during exercise and reduced tolerance of exercise.

Trail registration: PROSPERO registration number: (CRD42020184108).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The 2020 prisma flow diagram.
Flow diagram for selection and inclusion of studies.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Effect size of differences in cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular outcomes in CFS and FMS compared with healthy controls.
Numbers in brackets indicate the number of studies reporting each variable. Abbreviations: MVC: Maximal Voluntary Contraction; RPE: rating of perceived exertion. *p<0.05 for overall effect size.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Effect size of differences in cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular outcomes in CFS compared with healthy controls.
Numbers in brackets indicate the number of studies reporting each variable. Abbreviations: MVC: Maximal Voluntary Contraction; RPE: rating of perceived exertion. *p<0.05 for overall effect size.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Effect size of differences in cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular outcomes in FMS compared with healthy controls.
Numbers in brackets indicate the number of studies reporting each variable. Abbreviations: MVC: Maximal Voluntary Contraction; RPE: rating of perceived exertion. *p<0.05 for overall effect size.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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