Anonymous
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Search
Editing
Boudewijn Van Houdenhove
(section)
From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history
Namespaces
Page
Discussion
More
More
Page actions
Read
Edit
Edit source
History
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
=== ME/CFS; a symptom of a sick society? === Inspired by historian [[Edward Shorter]], Van Houdenhove emphasizes how culture shapes the way we define illnesses.<ref name=":2" /> For example, in a letter to The Lancet, he explained the curious situation in his home country, Belgium: <blockquote>"French-speaking Belgian colleagues have repeatedly confirmed that the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has not yet become a hyped illness, as it is in Flanders (as well as in the Netherlands and the UK). In Flanders, for example, there are currently four CFS/ME self-help groups, whereas none exists in Wallonia. The Flemish press, has regularly reported the disorder for 10 years (eg, describing patients’ experiences about disbelief and incomprehension, or about so-called research breakthroughs), but the Walloon press has shown interest only in the past few years. Walloons are more oriented— culturally as well as scientifically—to France, whereas Flemish people are on the same wavelength as countries with Anglo-Saxon culture and science. Consequently, Walloon and Flemish patients and doctors use different labels to communicate about distress and ill health."<ref name=":2">Van Houdenhove B. [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(00)05002-9/fulltext Does myalgic encephalomyelitis exist?] Lancet. 2001 Jun 9; 357 (9271): 1889.</ref> </blockquote> Van Houdenhove speculates the prevalence of ME/CFS to be on the rise because of consumerism and the high social demands modern society places on the individual. In this respect he ponders if ME/CFS should be regarded as a "symptom of a sick society".<ref name=":3">Van Houdenhove B, Vanthuyne S, Neerinckx E, Vanden Wyngaert M. [https://www.tvg.be/article/moet-het-chronische-vermoeidheidsyndroom-erkend-worden Moet het chronische-vermoeidheidssyndroom erkend worden?] Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde. 1999; 55: 1732. </ref>
Summary:
Please make sure your edits are consistent with
MEpedia's guidelines
.
By saving changes, you agree to the
Terms of use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 3.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
This page is a member of a hidden category:
Category:CS1 Nederlands-language sources (nl)
Navigation
Navigation
Skip to content
Main page
Browse
Become an editor
Random page
Popular pages
Abbreviations
Glossary
About MEpedia
Links for editors
Contents
Guidelines
Recent changes
Pages in need
Search
Help
Wiki tools
Wiki tools
Special pages
Page tools
Page tools
User page tools
More
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Page logs