Hu, Howard, Baines, Cornelia · Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2018
This review article examines three conditions that doctors often overlook or misunderstand: ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivity. The authors discuss why these conditions are frequently underrecognized and how they affect patients' lives. They highlight that these conditions are real medical problems that deserve proper attention and care.
This paper is important because it addresses a critical problem in ME/CFS care: many primary care physicians do not recognize or adequately diagnose the condition. By highlighting ME/CFS alongside fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivity, the authors help normalize discussions about these conditions and advocate for better clinical recognition. This can lead to earlier diagnosis, better patient outcomes, and reduced diagnostic delays that patients often experience.
As a narrative review article, this paper does not present original research data or conduct controlled studies. It does not prove the mechanisms underlying ME/CFS or establish new diagnostic criteria. It cannot determine causation for any aspect of these conditions, only discuss existing knowledge and clinical observations from the published literature.
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
Hu, Howard & Baines, Cornelia (2018). Recent insights into 3 underrecognized conditions: Myalgic encephalomyelitis-chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and environmental sensitivities-multiple chemical sensitivity.. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29898928/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hu-2018-recent-insights,
author = {Hu, Howard and Baines, Cornelia},
title = {Recent insights into 3 underrecognized conditions: Myalgic encephalomyelitis-chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and environmental sensitivities-multiple chemical sensitivity.},
journal = {Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien},
year = {2018},
note = {PubMed: 29898928},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hu-2018-recent-insights},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hu-2018-recent-insights
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