Katz, Ben Z, Stewart, Julian M, Shiraishi, Yukiko et al. · Clinical pediatrics · 2012 · DOI
This study looked at whether teenagers with ME/CFS have trouble standing up for long periods (a condition called orthostatic intolerance). Researchers tested 36 teens with ME/CFS and 43 recovered teens, all about 6 months after having infectious mononucleosis. Surprisingly, they found that similar numbers of both groups had difficulty with standing tolerance, suggesting this may not be a key difference between those who recover and those who develop ME/CFS.
Orthostatic intolerance is commonly reported by ME/CFS patients and has been proposed as a potential biomarker. This study helps clarify whether it is a specific feature of ME/CFS or a more general consequence of post-viral illness, which is important for understanding the mechanisms underlying the condition and developing diagnostic tests.
This study does not prove that orthostatic intolerance plays no role in ME/CFS generally, only that it was not a distinguishing feature in this specific post-IM adolescent cohort. It does not establish causation or explain why some people develop ME/CFS after mononucleosis while others recover. The study's small sample size and focus on adolescents limits generalization to adults or other ME/CFS populations.
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
Katz, Ben Z, Stewart, Julian M, Shiraishi, Yukiko, Mears, Cynthia J, & Taylor, Renee (2012). Orthostatic tolerance testing in a prospective cohort of adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome and recovered controls following infectious mononucleosis.. Clinical pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922812455094
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-katz-2012-orthostatic-tolerance,
author = {Katz, Ben Z and Stewart, Julian M and Shiraishi, Yukiko and Mears, Cynthia J and Taylor, Renee},
title = {Orthostatic tolerance testing in a prospective cohort of adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome and recovered controls following infectious mononucleosis.},
journal = {Clinical pediatrics},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1177/0009922812455094},
note = {PubMed: 22850676},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/katz-2012-orthostatic-tolerance},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/katz-2012-orthostatic-tolerance
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