Jacobson, W, Saich, T, Borysiewicz, L K et al. · Neurology · 1993 · DOI
Researchers measured folic acid levels in the blood of 60 ME/CFS patients and found that about half had lower-than-normal amounts. This suggests that some people with ME/CFS may not have enough folic acid in their body, which is a B vitamin important for many body functions.
Identifying potential nutritional deficiencies in ME/CFS could lead to new avenues for symptom management and treatment strategies. If folate deficiency is confirmed as more common in ME/CFS than in healthy controls, supplementation might be explored as a therapeutic intervention.
This study does not establish that folate deficiency causes ME/CFS or that it contributes to symptom severity. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether low folate is a cause, consequence, or incidental finding, and without a comparison group, we cannot assess whether this prevalence is unusual for CFS specifically.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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