Shinba, Toshikazu, Kuratsune, Daisuke, Shinba, Shuntaro et al. · Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at heart rhythm patterns in people with ME/CFS and depression to see if these patterns could help doctors tell the two conditions apart. Researchers measured how heart rate changes during rest, mental tasks, and recovery in both groups. They found that while both conditions affect the heart's nervous system control, the patterns are different enough that a computer analysis could correctly identify which condition a person had about 92% of the time.
Because ME/CFS and depression share many symptoms, patients are often misdiagnosed and receive inappropriate treatment. This research suggests that objective heart rate measurements could help clinicians distinguish between these conditions, potentially leading to faster, more accurate diagnosis and better-matched treatments. For ME/CFS patients specifically, this could reduce delays in receiving appropriate care.
This study does not prove that HRV abnormalities cause ME/CFS or depression—only that these patterns correlate with each diagnosis. The findings are from a single study and need replication in other patient populations before they could be used clinically. The study also does not explain why these heart rhythm differences exist or whether treating the underlying condition normalizes these HRV patterns.
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
Shinba, Toshikazu, Kuratsune, Daisuke, Shinba, Shuntaro, Shinba, Yujiro, Sun, Guanghao, Matsui, Takemi, et al. (2023). Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Show Characteristic Heart Rate Variability Profiles Reflecting Autonomic Dysregulations: Differentiation by Linear Discriminant Analysis.. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23115330
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-shinba-2023-major-depressive,
author = {Shinba, Toshikazu and Kuratsune, Daisuke and Shinba, Shuntaro and Shinba, Yujiro and Sun, Guanghao and Matsui, Takemi and Kuratsune, Hirohiko},
title = {Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Show Characteristic Heart Rate Variability Profiles Reflecting Autonomic Dysregulations: Differentiation by Linear Discriminant Analysis.},
journal = {Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/s23115330},
note = {PubMed: 37300057},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shinba-2023-major-depressive},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shinba-2023-major-depressive
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