Şimşek, Ilkay · Journal of clinical gastroenterology · 2011 · DOI
This review examines irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and related digestive disorders that cause symptoms like abnormal gut movement and pain sensitivity. The authors found that many people with these conditions also have other illnesses, including ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, suggesting shared underlying causes. Changes in gut bacteria and immune system activity may play an important role in these overlapping conditions.
This review is important for ME/CFS patients because it formally documents the high prevalence of gastrointestinal comorbidities in ME/CFS and recognizes shared pathogenic mechanisms, particularly immune dysfunction and microbiota alterations. Understanding these overlaps may lead to more integrated clinical assessment and treatment approaches for patients experiencing both ME/CFS and digestive dysfunction.
This narrative review does not establish causal relationships between gut dysfunction and ME/CFS, nor does it prove that treating gastrointestinal symptoms will improve ME/CFS outcomes. The review is based on synthesizing existing literature rather than presenting new experimental or clinical trial data, so it cannot establish the magnitude or directionality of observed associations.
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
Şimşek, Ilkay (2011). Irritable bowel syndrome and other functional gastrointestinal disorders.. Journal of clinical gastroenterology. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0b013e31821fbd6f
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-imek-2011-irritable-bowel,
author = {Şimşek, Ilkay},
title = {Irritable bowel syndrome and other functional gastrointestinal disorders.},
journal = {Journal of clinical gastroenterology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1097/MCG.0b013e31821fbd6f},
note = {PubMed: 21666425},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/imek-2011-irritable-bowel},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/imek-2011-irritable-bowel
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