AlAmri, Abdullah S, AlShamrani, Foziah J, AlMohish, Noor M et al. · Journal of family & community medicine · 2024 · DOI
This study looked at fatigue in 225 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to see how many also had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). About half of the MS patients experienced long-lasting fatigue lasting over 6 months. Researchers found that 7% of patients truly met the medical criteria for CFS, while 17% believed they had CFS but didn't meet the official diagnostic standards, suggesting confusion about what CFS actually is.
This research highlights a critical diagnostic gap: many MS patients reporting CFS symptoms don't meet established criteria, and vice versa. For ME/CFS patients and researchers, this underscores how fatigue in MS can be misdiagnosed or confused with true CFS, complicating understanding of both conditions and potentially affecting treatment approaches.
This study does not prove that CFS causes fatigue in MS patients or vice versa—it only documents an association. It cannot establish whether the 7.3% with true CFS developed it because of MS or independently. The cross-sectional design prevents determining temporal relationships or causation.
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
AlAmri, Abdullah S, AlShamrani, Foziah J, AlMohish, Noor M, Zafar, Azra S, Alnaaim, Saud A, Alazman, Hatem A, et al. (2024). Frequency and characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome in multiple sclerosis patients at a university hospital in Eastern Saudi Arabia.. Journal of family & community medicine. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfcm.jfcm_73_23
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-alamri-2024-frequency-characteristics,
author = {AlAmri, Abdullah S and AlShamrani, Foziah J and AlMohish, Noor M and Zafar, Azra S and Alnaaim, Saud A and Alazman, Hatem A and Al-Ghanimi, Ibrahim A and AlNahdi, Abdullah A and AlDawsari, Fahad A and AlMatrafi, Shahad B and Alzahrani, Ghaida R and Alnamlah, Muna S and Alkhalifa, Rawan A},
title = {Frequency and characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome in multiple sclerosis patients at a university hospital in Eastern Saudi Arabia.},
journal = {Journal of family & community medicine},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.4103/jfcm.jfcm_73_23},
note = {PubMed: 38406222},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/alamri-2024-frequency-characteristics},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/alamri-2024-frequency-characteristics
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