E3 PreliminaryWeak / uncertainPEM unclearReview-NarrativePeer-reviewedMachine draft
THE CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF SOMATOFORM DISORDERS IN CHILDREN (REVIEW).
Khundadze, M, Mkheidze, R, Geladze, N et al. · Georgian medical news · 2015
Quick Summary
This review article examines somatoform disorders—conditions where physical symptoms occur without a clear physical cause—in children and teenagers. It covers several conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome, and discusses why these disorders happen, how they present differently, and how doctors can diagnose and treat them. The authors note that these conditions have become more common over the past 20 years.
Why It Matters
This review is relevant to ME/CFS because it positions chronic fatigue syndrome within the broader context of somatoform disorders in pediatric populations and discusses diagnostic criteria and management approaches. Understanding how CFS is classified and differentiated from other conditions that present with fatigue in children can help clarify the condition's distinct biological and clinical features.
Observed Findings
- Somatoform disorders in children and adolescents show progressive increase in prevalence over the past 20 years
- Chronic fatigue syndrome is included as one of several somatoform syndromes affecting pediatric populations
- Multiple distinct clinical presentations exist within somatoform disorders, including health anxiety, paroxysmal non-epileptic events, and headaches
- Standardized methods for prevention, differential diagnosis, and treatment of these conditions have been developed
Inferred Conclusions
- Somatoform disorders, including chronic fatigue syndrome, represent an increasing health burden in pediatric populations
- Standardized diagnostic and management protocols are necessary to distinguish between somatoform disorders and other medical conditions
- Multidisciplinary approaches to prevention and treatment may be beneficial for children with these conditions
Remaining Questions
- What are the underlying biological and psychological mechanisms driving the increased prevalence of somatoform disorders over the past two decades?
- How should chronic fatigue syndrome in children be differentiated from other somatoform presentations and what are the disease-specific markers?
- Which treatment approaches show the strongest evidence for different somatoform presentations in pediatric populations?
What This Study Does Not Prove
This review does not establish causation for any somatoform disorder, nor does it prove whether chronic fatigue syndrome is primarily psychosomatic or organic in nature. As a narrative review rather than a systematic analysis, it cannot quantify the strength of evidence supporting any particular treatment or diagnostic approach, and the abstract does not specify which studies were included or their quality.
Tags
Symptom:PainFatigue
Phenotype:Pediatric
Method Flag:Weak Case DefinitionExploratory Only
Metadata
- PMID
- 26355317
- Review status
- Machine draft
- Evidence level
- Early hypothesis, preprint, editorial, or weak support
- Last updated
- 10 April 2026
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 →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →