Grach, Stephanie L, Seltzer, Jaime, Orbelo, Diana M · Journal of clinical medicine · 2025 · DOI
This study explored whether people with ME/CFS experience changes in their voice or speech. Researchers surveyed 685 people with ME/CFS and reviewed open-ended responses from 302 participants. About 9% of respondents mentioned voice or speech changes when describing their disease experience, suggesting this is a real symptom that deserves further attention.
This is the first formal investigation documenting voice and speech abnormalities in ME/CFS, filling a research gap and validating patient-reported experiences. Recognition of these symptoms may improve clinical assessment, diagnostic accuracy, and quality of life monitoring. These findings could prompt future studies investigating underlying neurological or muscular mechanisms in ME/CFS.
This study does not establish how common voice and speech changes actually are in ME/CFS, since participants were not specifically asked about these symptoms—only those who spontaneously mentioned them were captured. It does not identify the biological mechanisms causing these changes or prove they are directly caused by ME/CFS pathology. The study provides no objective measurements of voice or speech function.
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
Grach, Stephanie L, Seltzer, Jaime, & Orbelo, Diana M (2025). A Signal for Voice and Speech Abnormalities in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Journal of clinical medicine. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14144847
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-grach-2025-signal-voice,
author = {Grach, Stephanie L and Seltzer, Jaime and Orbelo, Diana M},
title = {A Signal for Voice and Speech Abnormalities in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of clinical medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.3390/jcm14144847},
note = {PubMed: 40725538},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/grach-2025-signal-voice},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/grach-2025-signal-voice
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