Berwaerts, J, Moorkens, G, Abs, R · Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society · 1998 · DOI
This study looked at growth hormone levels in people with ME/CFS, because low growth hormone has been seen in related conditions like fibromyalgia. Researchers tested 20 ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy controls, measuring growth hormone in different ways. They found that ME/CFS patients had lower levels of a growth hormone marker (IGF-I) and tended to produce less growth hormone at night, though other growth hormone tests were similar between groups.
Growth hormone plays important roles in energy production, muscle maintenance, and recovery—all impaired in ME/CFS. This study provides early evidence that endocrine dysfunction may be part of ME/CFS biology, which could eventually guide new diagnostic or therapeutic approaches if confirmed in larger studies.
This small cross-sectional study cannot establish causation or whether GH abnormalities cause ME/CFS symptoms, contribute to them, or result from the illness. The trend toward reduced nocturnal GH (P=0.06) did not reach statistical significance, so the clinical importance remains unclear. The study design cannot rule out confounding factors or determine whether GH dysfunction is specific to ME/CFS or shared with other chronic illnesses.
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
Berwaerts, J, Moorkens, G, & Abs, R (1998). Secretion of growth hormone in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1096-6374(98)80036-1
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-berwaerts-1998-secretion-growth,
author = {Berwaerts, J and Moorkens, G and Abs, R},
title = {Secretion of growth hormone in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1016/s1096-6374(98)80036-1},
note = {PubMed: 10990147},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/berwaerts-1998-secretion-growth},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/berwaerts-1998-secretion-growth
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