Wirth, Marielle, Haastert, Burkhard, Linnenkamp, Ute et al. · Scientific reports · 2026 · DOI
This study looked at medical records of young people (ages 6-27) diagnosed with ME/CFS to see what health problems they had in the year before their diagnosis. Researchers found that certain conditions—like fatigue, depression, pain disorders, and post-COVID-19 condition—appeared more often in people who later developed ME/CFS compared to similar young people who didn't develop it. This suggests these earlier diagnoses might be early warning signs or related to ME/CFS development, though the study cannot prove they actually caused ME/CFS.
Early identification of ME/CFS in young people is challenging, and many patients experience diagnostic delays. This study provides potential diagnostic indicators that clinicians should be alert to when evaluating young patients, particularly those with post-COVID-19 condition, depression, pain disorders, and fatigue. Understanding patterns preceding ME/CFS diagnosis may help improve early detection and support for affected young people.
This study cannot establish causation—having these conditions does not mean someone will develop ME/CFS. The associations observed could reflect early symptoms of ME/CFS being misclassified under other diagnoses, rather than separate conditions triggering ME/CFS. Additionally, the study cannot clarify whether identified conditions preceded ME/CFS onset or emerged simultaneously as early manifestations of the disease itself.
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
Wirth, Marielle, Haastert, Burkhard, Linnenkamp, Ute, Andrich, Silke, Icks, Andrea, Pricoco, Rafael, et al. (2026). ICD-10 Diagnoses prior to ME/CFS diagnosis in children and young people suggest potential early diagnostic indicators.. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40848-1
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wirth-2026-icd-diagnoses,
author = {Wirth, Marielle and Haastert, Burkhard and Linnenkamp, Ute and Andrich, Silke and Icks, Andrea and Pricoco, Rafael and Behrends, Uta and De Bock, Freia},
title = {ICD-10 Diagnoses prior to ME/CFS diagnosis in children and young people suggest potential early diagnostic indicators.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-40848-1},
note = {PubMed: 41741569},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wirth-2026-icd-diagnoses},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wirth-2026-icd-diagnoses
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