Vroegindeweij, Anouk, Eijkelkamp, Niels, van den Berg, Sjoerd A A et al. · Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024 · DOI
This study looked at cortisol (a stress hormone) levels in hair samples from young people with ME/CFS and other fatigue conditions. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS and Q-Fever Fatigue Syndrome had lower cortisol levels in their hair compared to healthy people, suggesting a long-term difference in how their bodies handle this hormone. Interestingly, baseline cortisol levels did not predict whether patients would improve with lifestyle and dietary changes.
This research confirms that abnormal cortisol regulation in ME/CFS extends beyond acute measurements to long-term patterns, providing biological evidence supporting the physiological basis of this condition. The finding that lower cortisol also appears in QFS suggests this may be a marker of a broader class of post-infectious fatigue disorders. Understanding cortisol dysfunction may eventually help develop targeted treatments.
This study does not establish that low cortisol causes ME/CFS or explains fatigue severity—the association may reflect a consequence rather than a cause. It cannot determine whether cortisol abnormalities would respond to direct hormonal interventions, nor does it prove that normalizing cortisol would improve symptoms. The lack of relationship between baseline cortisol and treatment response suggests cortisol may not be the primary driver of fatigue in these conditions.
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
Vroegindeweij, Anouk, Eijkelkamp, Niels, van den Berg, Sjoerd A A, van de Putte, Elise M, Wulffraat, Nico M, Swart, Joost F, et al. (2024). Lower hair cortisol concentration in adolescent and young adult patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Q-Fever Fatigue Syndrome compared to controls.. Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107117
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-vroegindeweij-2024-lower-hair,
author = {Vroegindeweij, Anouk and Eijkelkamp, Niels and van den Berg, Sjoerd A A and van de Putte, Elise M and Wulffraat, Nico M and Swart, Joost F and Nijhof, Sanne L},
title = {Lower hair cortisol concentration in adolescent and young adult patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Q-Fever Fatigue Syndrome compared to controls.},
journal = {Psychoneuroendocrinology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107117},
note = {PubMed: 38986244},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vroegindeweij-2024-lower-hair},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vroegindeweij-2024-lower-hair
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