Ko, Charlotte, Lucassen, Peter, van der Linden, Britt et al. · Journal of psychosomatic research · 2022 · DOI
This review examined whether patients with functional somatic syndromes like ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and IBS experience more stigma and negative health effects than patients with other medical conditions. The researchers found that ME/CFS and fibromyalgia patients did experience higher levels of stigma compared to patients with clearly explained medical conditions, and stigma was linked to worse health outcomes in all groups studied.
This systematic review confirms that ME/CFS patients face substantial stigma that correlates with worse health outcomes, validating patient experiences and highlighting a treatable psychosocial barrier to care. Understanding stigma's role in ME/CFS is critical for developing interventions and advocating for improved medical recognition and support.
This study does not establish whether stigma causes worse health outcomes or merely correlates with them, nor does it definitively prove that ME/CFS patients experience more negative health consequences from stigma than patients with explained conditions. The small number of CFS-specific studies (n=1) limits conclusions specific to ME/CFS.
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
Ko, Charlotte, Lucassen, Peter, van der Linden, Britt, Ballering, Aranka, & Olde Hartman, Tim (2022). Stigma perceived by patients with functional somatic syndromes and its effect on health outcomes - A systematic review.. Journal of psychosomatic research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110715
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ko-2022-stigma-perceived,
author = {Ko, Charlotte and Lucassen, Peter and van der Linden, Britt and Ballering, Aranka and Olde Hartman, Tim},
title = {Stigma perceived by patients with functional somatic syndromes and its effect on health outcomes - A systematic review.},
journal = {Journal of psychosomatic research},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110715},
note = {PubMed: 35016138},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ko-2022-stigma-perceived},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ko-2022-stigma-perceived
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