Israeli, Eitan, Pardo, Asher · Modern rheumatology · 2011 · DOI
This review paper proposes that sick building syndrome—a collection of unexplained symptoms people develop from spending time in certain buildings—may be part of a larger group of related conditions. The authors suggest that sick building syndrome shares many symptoms with other post-exposure illnesses like Gulf War syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome, and may all stem from similar immune system problems triggered by specific substances.
This work is relevant to ME/CFS research because chronic fatigue syndrome is explicitly mentioned as part of the broader functional somatic syndromes framework, and the proposed ASIA classification offers a potential mechanistic bridge connecting ME/CFS to other post-exposure illnesses. If validated, this framework could help clinicians recognize shared pathogenic pathways and improve diagnostic approaches across multiple unexplained illness syndromes.
This review does not prove that SBS is caused by adjuvants or that it shares identical mechanisms with the other conditions mentioned. It is a comparative clinical analysis that identifies symptom overlap, not a mechanistic study demonstrating causation. The proposed diagnostic criteria explicitly require further validation, so their clinical utility remains unestablished.
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
Israeli, Eitan & Pardo, Asher (2011). The sick building syndrome as a part of the autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants.. Modern rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-010-0380-9
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-israeli-2011-sick-building,
author = {Israeli, Eitan and Pardo, Asher},
title = {The sick building syndrome as a part of the autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants.},
journal = {Modern rheumatology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1007/s10165-010-0380-9},
note = {PubMed: 21188456},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/israeli-2011-sick-building},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/israeli-2011-sick-building
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