Tschudi-Madsen, Hedda, Rødevand, Linn N, Bøymo Kaarbø, Mette et al. · Scandinavian journal of pain · 2019 · DOI
This study looked at 33 patients with widespread pain to understand how different diagnostic labels (fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and bodily distress syndrome) overlap and apply to the same people. Researchers also tested whether a patient-created quality-of-life survey could capture things that standard questionnaires miss. They found that most patients had very low quality of life scores, and that the newer diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia work better together than older versions.
This study clarifies the substantial diagnostic overlap between fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, and related conditions, supporting more unified terminology under ICD-11. The finding that patient-generated quality-of-life measures capture unique clinical information not detected by standard questionnaires has direct relevance for comprehensive assessment and treatment planning in ME/CFS and related complex symptom disorders.
This study does not establish causation or temporal relationships between conditions, only their co-occurrence in a specialized clinic population. The small sample size (n=33) and lack of control group limits generalizability beyond tertiary pain clinic settings. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether diagnostic overlap reflects shared underlying mechanisms or simply similar symptom presentations.
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
Tschudi-Madsen, Hedda, Rødevand, Linn N, Bøymo Kaarbø, Mette, & Granan, Lars-Petter (2019). Chronic Widespread Pain in a tertiary pain clinic: classification overlap and use of a patient generated quality of life instrument.. Scandinavian journal of pain. https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2018-0097
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-tschudi-madsen-2019-chronic-widespread,
author = {Tschudi-Madsen, Hedda and Rødevand, Linn N and Bøymo Kaarbø, Mette and Granan, Lars-Petter},
title = {Chronic Widespread Pain in a tertiary pain clinic: classification overlap and use of a patient generated quality of life instrument.},
journal = {Scandinavian journal of pain},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1515/sjpain-2018-0097},
note = {PubMed: 30465720},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tschudi-madsen-2019-chronic-widespread},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/tschudi-madsen-2019-chronic-widespread
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