Minowa, M, Jiamo, M · Journal of epidemiology · 1996 · DOI
Researchers surveyed hospitals across Japan in 1992 to understand how many people have ME/CFS and how it spreads. They found that about 0.85 cases per 100,000 people were diagnosed that year, with slightly more women affected than men. The number of cases appeared to be growing from 1992 to 1993, and a small percentage of cases started after an infection.
This is one of the few nationwide epidemiological surveys of ME/CFS using standardized diagnostic criteria, providing important international prevalence data beyond Western populations. The identification of an increasing trend and post-infectious cases offers insights into disease burden and potential etiopathogenic factors in a large developed economy.
This hospital-based survey cannot establish true population prevalence because many ME/CFS patients do not seek care or are seen in outpatient settings not captured by the study. The finding that 14.8% of cases were post-infectious does not prove infection causes ME/CFS, nor does it establish that the remaining 85% have different etiologies. Case clusters are reported descriptively without epidemiological analysis to determine if they represent true clustering.
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
Minowa, M & Jiamo, M (1996). Descriptive epidemiology of chronic fatigue syndrome based on a nationwide survey in Japan.. Journal of epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.6.75
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-minowa-1996-descriptive-epidemiology,
author = {Minowa, M and Jiamo, M},
title = {Descriptive epidemiology of chronic fatigue syndrome based on a nationwide survey in Japan.},
journal = {Journal of epidemiology},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.2188/jea.6.75},
note = {PubMed: 8795946},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/minowa-1996-descriptive-epidemiology},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/minowa-1996-descriptive-epidemiology
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