Paulley, J W · Recenti progressi in medicina · 1990
This 1990 editorial argues that hyperventilation syndrome (rapid, shallow breathing) is often misdiagnosed as ME/CFS, and that doctors fail to recognize and properly treat it. The author suggests that many patients labeled with ME/CFS actually have hyperventilation triggered by psychological stress and unresolved emotional losses, and recommends treatment combining physiotherapy and psychological counseling.
This work is historically significant as it represents a viewpoint—common in the 1980s-90s—that attributed ME/CFS symptoms primarily to psychological causes and hyperventilation, a perspective that influenced medical attitudes and delayed recognition of ME/CFS as a biological illness.
This editorial does not establish whether hyperventilation and ME/CFS are distinct conditions or whether psychological factors are the primary cause of ME/CFS. It presents clinical opinion without empirical evidence, controlled comparisons, or objective testing data. It does not prove that the proposed psychological management actually resolves ME/CFS symptoms.
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
Paulley, J W (1990). Hyperventilation.. Recenti progressi in medicina. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2263757/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-paulley-1990-hyperventilation,
author = {Paulley, J W},
title = {Hyperventilation.},
journal = {Recenti progressi in medicina},
year = {1990},
note = {PubMed: 2263757},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/paulley-1990-hyperventilation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/paulley-1990-hyperventilation
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