Gregorowski, Anna, Simpson, Jane, Segal, Terry Y · Current opinion in pediatrics · 2019 · DOI
This review looked at what we currently know about ME/CFS in children and teenagers, including what might cause it, how it affects their lives, and what treatments might help. The researchers found that ME/CFS is a serious condition that varies greatly from person to person, and that we still don't fully understand what causes it or have proven treatments that work for everyone. They highlight that more research is urgently needed, especially to help the most severely affected young people.
This review is important because ME/CFS in young people is severely understudied despite causing substantial disability and family impact. Understanding the current evidence gaps helps guide research priorities and informs clinical guideline development, ultimately improving care and outcomes for affected children and adolescents who currently lack proven, evidence-based treatments.
This review does not establish definitive causes of pediatric ME/CFS or prove the superiority of any single treatment approach. The heterogeneity of studies examined and small sample sizes limit the ability to draw firm conclusions about treatment efficacy, and correlation between potential triggers and disease onset does not establish 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 →
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Primary citation
Gregorowski, Anna, Simpson, Jane, & Segal, Terry Y (2019). Child and adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: where are we now?. Current opinion in pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0000000000000777
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-gregorowski-2019-child-adolescent,
author = {Gregorowski, Anna and Simpson, Jane and Segal, Terry Y},
title = {Child and adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: where are we now?},
journal = {Current opinion in pediatrics},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1097/MOP.0000000000000777},
note = {PubMed: 31045885},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gregorowski-2019-child-adolescent},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/gregorowski-2019-child-adolescent
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