Joustra, Monica L, Minovic, Isidor, Janssens, Karin A M et al. · PloS one · 2017 · DOI
This review looked at whether people with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia have low levels of vitamins and minerals, and whether taking supplements helps. Researchers found very little evidence that vitamin or mineral deficiencies cause these illnesses or that supplements improve symptoms. While some studies showed lower vitamin E levels in patients, this finding disappeared when looking only at higher-quality research.
This comprehensive review addresses a common clinical practice—35-68% of ME/CFS and fibromyalgia patients use supplements—by systematically evaluating whether evidence supports this approach. The findings help patients and clinicians make informed decisions about supplement use and guide future research priorities.
This study does not prove that micronutrient supplementation is ineffective in individual patients, only that current published evidence does not support it broadly. It also does not rule out the possibility that specific subgroups might benefit, or that intracellular micronutrient status (rather than circulating levels) could be relevant. The poor quality of many included studies means we cannot definitively exclude micronutrient involvement based on this evidence alone.
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
Joustra, Monica L, Minovic, Isidor, Janssens, Karin A M, Bakker, Stephan J L, & Rosmalen, Judith G M (2017). Vitamin and mineral status in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176631
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-joustra-2017-vitamin-mineral,
author = {Joustra, Monica L and Minovic, Isidor and Janssens, Karin A M and Bakker, Stephan J L and Rosmalen, Judith G M},
title = {Vitamin and mineral status in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0176631},
note = {PubMed: 28453534},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/joustra-2017-vitamin-mineral},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/joustra-2017-vitamin-mineral
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