Słomko, Joanna, Newton, Julia L, Kujawski, Sławomir et al. · BMJ open · 2019 · DOI
Researchers in Poland studied 1,400 people who reported feeling very tired to understand how common ME/CFS really is. They found that 69 people actually had ME/CFS based on standard diagnostic criteria. These patients experienced severe fatigue that lasted years, had trouble staying awake during the day, problems with dizziness when standing up, anxiety, and depression—all of which seriously affected their quality of life.
This is the first systematic study characterizing ME/CFS in the Polish population, providing epidemiological data for a largely understudied region. The findings emphasize that ME/CFS is a complex, multisystemic condition with significant autonomic, sleep, and psychiatric features—highlighting the need for comprehensive, interdisciplinary assessment and recognition in clinical practice.
This study does not establish causation between fatigue, autonomic dysfunction, sleep disturbance, and mood symptoms—only associations. The small sample of confirmed cases (n=69) and self-selection bias limit generalizability to the broader Polish population. Additionally, the cross-sectional design cannot determine whether autonomic or psychiatric features precede ME/CFS onset or emerge as consequences.
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
Słomko, Joanna, Newton, Julia L, Kujawski, Sławomir, Tafil-Klawe, Małgorzata, Klawe, Jacek, Staines, Donald, et al. (2019). Prevalence and characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) in Poland: a cross-sectional study.. BMJ open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023955
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-somko-2019-prevalence-characteristics,
author = {Słomko, Joanna and Newton, Julia L and Kujawski, Sławomir and Tafil-Klawe, Małgorzata and Klawe, Jacek and Staines, Donald and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya and Zalewski, Pawel},
title = {Prevalence and characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) in Poland: a cross-sectional study.},
journal = {BMJ open},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023955},
note = {PubMed: 30850404},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/somko-2019-prevalence-characteristics},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/somko-2019-prevalence-characteristics
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