Malleson, P N · Current opinion in rheumatology · 1991 · DOI
This editorial discusses how chronic pain and long-term illnesses affect children, and suggests that conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) may be related to each other. The author notes that doctors need better training to understand these complex conditions and that psychological factors may play a role in how these illnesses develop and affect children's lives.
This editorial highlights the clinical recognition of ME/CFS as a serious pediatric condition requiring multidisciplinary management and focused research attention. It suggests potential mechanistic links between ME/CFS and other chronic pain syndromes, and raises the question of whether immunologic abnormalities contribute to ME/CFS pathophysiology—both areas of ongoing clinical interest.
This editorial does not provide empirical evidence that ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and reflex neurovascular dystrophy are actually part of a disease continuum—it merely proposes this as a possibility. It does not establish causality between psychosocial factors and ME/CFS, nor does it clarify the clinical significance of immunoglobulin subclass deficiencies in ME/CFS. As an editorial, it represents expert opinion rather than systematic review or original research data.
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 →
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Primary citation
Malleson, P N (1991). Pain syndromes, disability, and chronic disease in childhood.. Current opinion in rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002281-199110000-00018
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-malleson-1991-pain-syndromes,
author = {Malleson, P N},
title = {Pain syndromes, disability, and chronic disease in childhood.},
journal = {Current opinion in rheumatology},
year = {1991},
doi = {10.1097/00002281-199110000-00018},
note = {PubMed: 1836344},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/malleson-1991-pain-syndromes},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/malleson-1991-pain-syndromes
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