Pednekar, Divesh Deepak, Amin, Md Rafiul, Azgomi, Hamid Fekri et al. · IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering · 2020 · DOI
This study looked at how the stress hormone cortisol behaves differently in people with fibromyalgia and ME/CFS compared to healthy people. Researchers found that people with fibromyalgia clear cortisol from their bodies more slowly, causing it to build up, which then triggers the body to reduce cortisol release. People with ME/CFS show different patterns, particularly releasing less cortisol in the early morning hours.
Understanding distinct cortisol dysregulation patterns in ME/CFS versus fibromyalgia could enable differentiation between these often-confused conditions and guide development of targeted hormonal therapies. This mechanistic characterization moves beyond simple cortisol level measurements to examine dynamic secretion patterns relevant to pathophysiology.
This study does not establish whether cortisol dysregulation causes ME/CFS symptoms or is a consequence of the disease. The research is based on mathematical modeling of cortisol dynamics and does not establish clinical causation, treatment efficacy, or whether correcting cortisol patterns would improve 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
Pednekar, Divesh Deepak, Amin, Md Rafiul, Azgomi, Hamid Fekri, Aschbacher, Kirstin, Crofford, Leslie J, & Faghih, Rose T (2020). Characterization of Cortisol Dysregulation in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes: A State-Space Approach.. IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2020.2978801
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pednekar-2020-characterization-cortisol,
author = {Pednekar, Divesh Deepak and Amin, Md Rafiul and Azgomi, Hamid Fekri and Aschbacher, Kirstin and Crofford, Leslie J and Faghih, Rose T},
title = {Characterization of Cortisol Dysregulation in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes: A State-Space Approach.},
journal = {IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1109/TBME.2020.2978801},
note = {PubMed: 32149617},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pednekar-2020-characterization-cortisol},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pednekar-2020-characterization-cortisol
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