Turgeon, S A · Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 1989
This review article examines what was known about ME/CFS in 1989, a time when the condition was still poorly understood. The authors note that while some initially thought the Epstein-Barr virus (which causes mononucleosis) might cause ME/CFS, that theory no longer seems correct. They found evidence that both psychiatric factors and subtle immune system problems may play a role in the illness.
This early review is historically important for understanding how ME/CFS research evolved and why initial viral hypotheses were eventually questioned. It documents the shift toward recognizing that ME/CFS likely involves both immune and psychological components, which remains relevant to current multisystemic research approaches.
This review does not prove what causes ME/CFS, nor does it establish the relative contribution of psychiatric versus immunological factors. As a literature review from 1989, it reflects outdated knowledge and cannot address modern findings about post-viral sequelae, metabolic dysfunction, or neuroinflammation discovered in subsequent decades.
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
Turgeon, S A (1989). Chronic fatigue syndrome: review of the literature.. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21249084/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-turgeon-1989-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Turgeon, S A},
title = {Chronic fatigue syndrome: review of the literature.},
journal = {Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien},
year = {1989},
note = {PubMed: 21249084},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/turgeon-1989-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/turgeon-1989-chronic-fatigue
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