Chronic Pain Prevalence, Characteristics, and Impact in United States Adults With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Adamowicz, Jenna L, Sirotiak, Zoe, Lendvai, Dora et al. · Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2026 · DOI
Quick Summary
This study looked at how common chronic pain is in people with ME/CFS and how it affects their lives. Researchers found that about 7 out of 10 people with ME/CFS also experience chronic pain lasting months or longer. People with both ME/CFS and chronic pain reported more depression, anxiety, and difficulty with daily activities compared to people who only have chronic pain.
Why It Matters
This study quantifies the substantial burden of chronic pain in ME/CFS and demonstrates that comorbid pain is associated with significantly worse mental health and quality-of-life outcomes. These findings support the clinical need for integrated, multi-symptom management approaches rather than treating ME/CFS and pain as separate conditions.
Observed Findings
70.7% of United States adults with ME/CFS reported chronic pain lasting 3 months or longer.
Chronic pain in ME/CFS patients occurred across multiple body locations, not concentrated in one area.
Individuals with comorbid ME/CFS and chronic pain had significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety screening positivity compared to those with chronic pain alone.
People with ME/CFS and chronic pain reported fair or poor general health and life dissatisfaction at higher rates than those with chronic pain without ME/CFS.
Chronic pain negatively impacted work, life activities, and family relationships in the ME/CFS population.
Inferred Conclusions
Chronic pain is a prevalent and clinically significant comorbidity in ME/CFS, affecting nearly three-quarters of patients with the condition.
Comorbid chronic pain and ME/CFS has a multiplicative negative effect on mental health and quality-of-life compared to chronic pain alone.
Multi-symptom interventions that address both pain and ME/CFS-related disability may be more beneficial than single-symptom approaches for this population.
Remaining Questions
What are the specific pain characteristics (types, locations, intensities) most common in ME/CFS, and do they differ from pain patterns in other chronic conditions?
What This Study Does Not Prove
This study does not establish that chronic pain causes the reduced quality-of-life in ME/CFS patients—only that they occur together. It cannot prove whether ME/CFS causes the pain, pain causes ME/CFS, or whether a third factor causes both. The study also cannot determine which specific pain management or ME/CFS interventions would be most effective.
Tags
Symptom:PainFatigue
Method Flag:PEM Not DefinedWeak Case DefinitionExploratory Only