Versluis, R G, de Waal, M W, Opmeer, C et al. · Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde · 1997
Researchers in the Netherlands looked at how many people in general medical practices had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). They reviewed medical records from about 23,000 patients and found that at least 1-2 out of every 1,000 patients had CFS. Interestingly, they noticed that women were diagnosed with CFS about five times more often than men.
This study provides early epidemiological data on CFS occurrence in general practice settings, helping establish disease burden in the community. Understanding prevalence is essential for healthcare planning and recognizing that CFS disproportionately affects women, which remains clinically relevant today.
This study does not prove what causes CFS or why it affects women more than men. It also cannot establish incidence (new cases) versus prevalence, and the reliance on medical record documentation means some undiagnosed cases in the community were likely missed.
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
Versluis, R G, de Waal, M W, Opmeer, C, Petri, H, & Springer, M P (1997). [Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome in 4 family practices in Leiden].. Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9543740/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-versluis-1997-prevalence-chronic,
author = {Versluis, R G and de Waal, M W and Opmeer, C and Petri, H and Springer, M P},
title = {[Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome in 4 family practices in Leiden].},
journal = {Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde},
year = {1997},
note = {PubMed: 9543740},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/versluis-1997-prevalence-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/versluis-1997-prevalence-chronic
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