Aguilar-Aguilar, Elena, Marcos-Pasero, Helena, de la Iglesia, Rocío et al. · Endocrinologia, diabetes y nutricion · 2018 · DOI
This study looked at the eating habits and exercise levels of 52 people with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), a condition where people react badly to everyday chemicals. The researchers found that most patients weren't eating enough fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, were taking many supplements, and very few were exercising regularly. The study suggests that better nutritional guidance tailored to each person's needs could help improve their health and quality of life.
Many ME/CFS patients experience concurrent MCS and similar comorbidities, making understanding their nutritional challenges highly relevant. This study highlights how restricted diets and low activity levels in MCS may mirror problems in ME/CFS populations, suggesting that personalized nutritional approaches could benefit both groups.
This study cannot establish causation between dietary patterns and disease severity, or whether restrictive diets are necessary or harmful. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether poor nutrition results from MCS symptoms or contributes to them. The study also does not compare MCS patients to healthy controls, so it cannot assess whether observed patterns are unique to MCS.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Aguilar-Aguilar, Elena, Marcos-Pasero, Helena, de la Iglesia, Rocío, Espinosa-Salinas, Isabel, Ramírez de Molina, Ana, Reglero, Guillermo, et al. (2018). Characteristics and determinants of dietary intake and physical activity in a group of patients with multiple chemical sensitivity.. Endocrinologia, diabetes y nutricion. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endinu.2018.07.009
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-aguilar-aguilar-2018-characteristics-determinants,
author = {Aguilar-Aguilar, Elena and Marcos-Pasero, Helena and de la Iglesia, Rocío and Espinosa-Salinas, Isabel and Ramírez de Molina, Ana and Reglero, Guillermo and Loria-Kohen, Viviana},
title = {Characteristics and determinants of dietary intake and physical activity in a group of patients with multiple chemical sensitivity.},
journal = {Endocrinologia, diabetes y nutricion},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.endinu.2018.07.009},
note = {PubMed: 30309810},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/aguilar-aguilar-2018-characteristics-determinants},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/aguilar-aguilar-2018-characteristics-determinants
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