Falk Hvidberg, Michael, Brinth, Louise Schouborg, Olesen, Anne V et al. · PloS one · 2015 · DOI
This study measured how ME/CFS affects quality of life using a standard health questionnaire given to Danish ME/CFS patients. The results show that people with ME/CFS report significantly lower quality of life (a score of 0.47 out of 1.0) compared to the general population (0.85), and this impact is worse than 20 other health conditions studied. Even after accounting for other illnesses patients might have, ME/CFS itself was shown to cause substantial harm to daily life and wellbeing.
This is the first recent international estimate of health-related quality of life specifically for ME/CFS patients using a validated, standardized measure. Demonstrating that ME/CFS causes greater quality-of-life burden than most other chronic diseases helps validate the severity of this condition and strengthens the case for clinical recognition and research investment. These findings provide clinicians and policymakers with evidence-based data on ME/CFS impact.
This study does not establish what causes ME/CFS or explain the biological mechanisms behind reduced quality of life. It cannot determine whether poor HRQoL results solely from disease-specific symptoms or partly from lack of medical support and recognition. The authors acknowledge possible selection bias (participants self-selected through a patient association), which may overestimate disease burden. The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality or track how quality of life changes over time.
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
Falk Hvidberg, Michael, Brinth, Louise Schouborg, Olesen, Anne V, Petersen, Karin D, & Ehlers, Lars (2015). The Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132421
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-falk-hvidberg-2015-health-related,
author = {Falk Hvidberg, Michael and Brinth, Louise Schouborg and Olesen, Anne V and Petersen, Karin D and Ehlers, Lars},
title = {The Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0132421},
note = {PubMed: 26147503},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/falk-hvidberg-2015-health-related},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/falk-hvidberg-2015-health-related
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