Nijhof, Sanne L, Maijer, Kimberley, Bleijenberg, Gijs et al. · Pediatrics · 2011 · DOI
This Dutch study looked at how many teenagers have ME/CFS and how many develop it each year. Researchers found that about 111 out of every 100,000 teenagers have ME/CFS, and about 12 per 100,000 develop it annually. Most teens with ME/CFS experience severe fatigue and physical impairment, and nearly half miss more than half their school days.
This study provides population-level epidemiological data establishing ME/CFS as a documented condition in adolescents with substantial functional impact. Understanding prevalence and incidence rates helps validate ME/CFS as a serious illness and highlights the need for better recognition and support in educational settings.
This study does not establish causative mechanisms of ME/CFS or identify risk factors predicting who develops the condition. The cross-sectional design for prevalence limits causal inference, and reliance on GP and pediatrician diagnosis means cases managed in primary care without specialist referral may be missed or misclassified.
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
Nijhof, Sanne L, Maijer, Kimberley, Bleijenberg, Gijs, Uiterwaal, Cuno S P M, Kimpen, Jan L L, & van de Putte, Elise M (2011). Adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: prevalence, incidence, and morbidity.. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1147
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-nijhof-2011-adolescent-chronic,
author = {Nijhof, Sanne L and Maijer, Kimberley and Bleijenberg, Gijs and Uiterwaal, Cuno S P M and Kimpen, Jan L L and van de Putte, Elise M},
title = {Adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: prevalence, incidence, and morbidity.},
journal = {Pediatrics},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1542/peds.2010-1147},
note = {PubMed: 21502228},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nijhof-2011-adolescent-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nijhof-2011-adolescent-chronic
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