Moorkens, G, Manuel y Keenoy, B, Vertommen, J et al. · Magnesium research · 1997
This study tested whether people with chronic fatigue have low magnesium levels. Researchers gave 97 patients a special magnesium test and found that 44 had magnesium deficiency. After magnesium supplements, their bodies retained less magnesium, suggesting the treatment may have helped. However, the researchers did not find a clear link between low magnesium and chronic fatigue syndrome itself.
This study investigates magnesium status in ME/CFS patients, as magnesium plays a critical role in cellular energy production and muscle function—systems commonly impaired in ME/CFS. The finding that standard serum magnesium tests may not detect true magnesium deficiency supports the use of specialized loading tests and has implications for understanding potential metabolic dysfunction in chronic fatigue conditions.
This study does not establish that magnesium deficiency causes ME/CFS or fibromyalgia, only that it may co-occur in some patients. The lack of association between magnesium deficit and CFS/fibromyalgia diagnosis does not rule out magnesium's role in symptom management for individual patients. The small sample size (24 patients receiving supplementation) limits generalizability of the treatment response findings.
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
Moorkens, G, Manuel y Keenoy, B, Vertommen, J, Meludu, S, Noe, M, & De Leeuw, I (1997). Magnesium deficit in a sample of the Belgian population presenting with chronic fatigue.. Magnesium research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9513929/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-moorkens-1997-magnesium-deficit,
author = {Moorkens, G and Manuel y Keenoy, B and Vertommen, J and Meludu, S and Noe, M and De Leeuw, I},
title = {Magnesium deficit in a sample of the Belgian population presenting with chronic fatigue.},
journal = {Magnesium research},
year = {1997},
note = {PubMed: 9513929},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/moorkens-1997-magnesium-deficit},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/moorkens-1997-magnesium-deficit
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