He, Gang, Cao, Yu, Ma, Honghao et al. · Frontiers in microbiology · 2023 · DOI
This study used genetic analysis to investigate whether changes in gut bacteria might actually cause ME/CFS, rather than just being associated with it. Researchers found that two types of bacteria—Paraprevotella and Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014—appear to increase the risk of developing ME/CFS. These findings suggest that gut bacteria may play a role in how ME/CFS develops.
Understanding whether specific gut bacteria actually cause ME/CFS—rather than simply being present in patients—could lead to targeted microbiome-based treatments. This work represents an important step toward identifying modifiable biological mechanisms underlying ME/CFS pathogenesis.
This study does not prove that changing these bacteria will cure or prevent ME/CFS, nor does it establish the mechanisms by which these bacteria might contribute to disease. Mendelian randomization infers causality from genetic associations but cannot definitively prove causal mechanisms in individual patients, and replication in independent cohorts is needed.
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
He, Gang, Cao, Yu, Ma, Honghao, Guo, Siran, Xu, Wangzi, Wang, Dai, et al. (2023). Causal Effects between Gut Microbiome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.. Frontiers in microbiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1190894
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-he-2023-causal-effects,
author = {He, Gang and Cao, Yu and Ma, Honghao and Guo, Siran and Xu, Wangzi and Wang, Dai and Chen, Yongquan and Wang, Houzhao},
title = {Causal Effects between Gut Microbiome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.},
journal = {Frontiers in microbiology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2023.1190894},
note = {PubMed: 37485509},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/he-2023-causal-effects},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/he-2023-causal-effects
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