Pasin, Tugce, Karatekin, Bilinc Dogruoz, Pasin, Ozge · Northern clinics of Istanbul · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at mothers caring for children with cerebral palsy to see how many developed ME/CFS and what factors affected them. The researchers found that about 80% of the mothers met the clinical criteria for ME/CFS, with mothers who stayed home having more severe fatigue than those who worked full-time. The child's hand and arm function appeared to be an important factor in how severe the mother's fatigue became.
This research highlights that ME/CFS in caregivers is not simply about caring responsibilities but appears linked to specific child-related factors and employment status. Understanding these associations may help identify high-risk caregiver populations for early intervention and support, while demonstrating that ME/CFS prevalence in caregiving populations warrants clinical attention.
This study cannot establish causation—it does not prove that caring for a child with cerebral palsy causes ME/CFS in mothers, only that they co-occur. The study used CDC-1994 criteria rather than current diagnostic standards. Without a control group of mothers with non-disabled children, we cannot determine how much excess fatigue is attributable to caregiving versus other life factors.
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
Pasin, Tugce, Karatekin, Bilinc Dogruoz, & Pasin, Ozge (2023). Chronic fatigue syndrome in caregivers of children with cerebral palsy and affecting factors.. Northern clinics of Istanbul. https://doi.org/10.14744/nci.2023.53533
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pasin-2023-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Pasin, Tugce and Karatekin, Bilinc Dogruoz and Pasin, Ozge},
title = {Chronic fatigue syndrome in caregivers of children with cerebral palsy and affecting factors.},
journal = {Northern clinics of Istanbul},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.14744/nci.2023.53533},
note = {PubMed: 37829755},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pasin-2023-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pasin-2023-chronic-fatigue
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