Bakken, Inger J, Tveito, Kari, Aaberg, Kari M et al. · BMC family practice · 2016 · DOI
This large Norwegian study looked at health problems that children with ME/CFS commonly experience in primary care compared to other children. Children with ME/CFS were much more likely to have records of extreme tiredness, depression, anxiety, migraines, and muscle pain. Interestingly, many children with ME/CFS had a recent infection (especially infectious mononucleosis) before their diagnosis, suggesting infections might play a role in developing the condition.
This study provides robust epidemiological evidence that infections—particularly infectious mononucleosis—may be involved in ME/CFS development, supporting an important research hypothesis. The finding that nearly half of children experience significant diagnostic delays highlights gaps in clinical recognition and emphasizes the need for better awareness among primary care providers.
This study does not establish that infections cause ME/CFS—only that they occur more frequently before diagnosis, which could reflect surveillance bias or shared risk factors. It cannot determine whether depression and anxiety are primary features, consequences of chronic illness, or partially artifacts of increased healthcare contact. Registry data also may not capture all symptoms or diagnoses, and results are limited to Norwegian children.
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
Bakken, Inger J, Tveito, Kari, Aaberg, Kari M, Ghaderi, Sara, Gunnes, Nina, Trogstad, Lill, et al. (2016). Comorbidities treated in primary care in children with chronic fatigue syndrome / myalgic encephalomyelitis: A nationwide registry linkage study from Norway.. BMC family practice. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-016-0527-7
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bakken-2016-comorbidities-treated,
author = {Bakken, Inger J and Tveito, Kari and Aaberg, Kari M and Ghaderi, Sara and Gunnes, Nina and Trogstad, Lill and Magnus, Per and Stoltenberg, Camilla and Håberg, Siri E},
title = {Comorbidities treated in primary care in children with chronic fatigue syndrome / myalgic encephalomyelitis: A nationwide registry linkage study from Norway.},
journal = {BMC family practice},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s12875-016-0527-7},
note = {PubMed: 27590471},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bakken-2016-comorbidities-treated},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bakken-2016-comorbidities-treated
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.