McEvedy, C P, Beard, A W · British medical journal · 1970 · DOI
This 1970 study reviewed 15 reported outbreaks of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and concluded that many of these cases may have been caused by mass hysteria or misdiagnosis rather than a physical disease. The authors suggested that future similar cases should be called 'myalgia nervosa' to reflect a psychological rather than biological cause. This interpretation is now considered outdated, as modern research has identified real biological abnormalities in ME/CFS.
This paper represents an important historical turning point in ME/CFS understanding. Its dismissal of ME as primarily psychogenic influenced medical attitudes for decades, delaying serious investigation into biological mechanisms and potentially contributing to stigma around the illness. Understanding this research context helps patients and advocates recognize why ME/CFS faced decades of skepticism despite accumulating biomedical evidence.
This study does not prove that ME/CFS is psychological in origin. Modern research using objective biomarkers (immune dysfunction, metabolic abnormalities, post-exertional malaise) has contradicted the hysteria hypothesis. The study's retrospective interpretation of historical outbreaks cannot establish causation, and observer bias in categorizing cases as 'psychogenic' versus organic was not controlled for.
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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