Wu, Ting Yu, Khorramshahi, Taura, Taylor, Lindsey A et al. · International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022 · DOI
This study looked for mold-related toxins in the urine of 236 ME/CFS patients who had been exposed to mold in water-damaged buildings. Researchers found evidence of these toxins in 92.4% of the patients tested, with a toxin called ochratoxin A being the most common. The study provides preliminary evidence that mold exposure may be connected to ME/CFS in this patient group, though more research is needed to understand if mold actually causes the illness.
This study explores a potential environmental trigger (mycotoxin exposure) that may contribute to ME/CFS development, addressing a significant gap since ME/CFS pathophysiology remains unknown. For patients, understanding possible environmental risk factors could inform prevention strategies and inform clinical discussions about exposure history. For researchers, these preliminary findings suggest that controlled studies comparing mycotoxin levels in ME/CFS patients versus controls are warranted.
This study does not prove that mold exposure causes ME/CFS—it only shows an association in patients who already have the illness and reported mold exposure. Without a control group of unexposed people or people with mold exposure but without ME/CFS, the study cannot determine if mycotoxin presence is unique to ME/CFS or causally related to disease onset. The findings are specific to South Florida and may not apply to ME/CFS patients in other geographic regions.
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 →
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.