Suicide

Statistics about suicide among patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remain widely disparate, possibly because of regional differences in suicide rates in general, as well as the use of different case definitions between epidemiological studies. However, one statistic is universally agreed on among researchers, clinicians, and patients: the incidence of suicide is higher in patients with ME and CFS than that of the general population.

United States
A 2016 study by the Center for Community Research, DePaul University, compared the mortality in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome to the mortality rates of the general population in the United States. Four categories for death were examined in detail: all causes combined, suicide, cardiovascular-related and cancer. In this study sample of 56 patients, the most frequent cause of death, as reported by caregivers, was suicide, occurring among 26.8% of patients. When examining suicide rates they found the suicide rate was higher in male ME/CFS patients than females (53.33% male and 46.67% female), which was the only cause of death in this study to display this pattern. Although the mean age of death in individuals with ME and CFS is at a younger age compared to the overall population, only the rate of all causes combined and cardiovascular-related mortality reached statistical significance.

United Kingdom
A 2016 study by Robert, et al, examined the mortality rates via electronic clinical records of 2147 people with chronic fatigue syndrome (as per the Oxford case definition) over a seven year period who presented to a specialist clinic that serves London and the south of England. The researchers found no significant statistical difference in mortality rate for all-cause mortality or cancer-specific mortality in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome compared with the general population in England and Wales when matched for age and gender. The one category for which a significant increase existed was in suicide-specific mortality. The researchers, also, found an increased risk of completed suicide in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome when compared with a population control. In total, five people died from suicide during the 7-year period. Kapur and Webb, from the Centre for Suicide Prevention at the University of Manchester, UK commented on the Roberts, et al, study: "Based on the suicide rate in the general population of England and Wales, the expected number would have been less than one death by suicide. In other words, suicide risk was increased almost seven-fold."

Spain
A 2015 Spanish study founded an increased risk of suicide in ME/CFS patients, 12.75% compared to 2.3% in the general Spanish population. This study is believed to be the first that pointed to external factors, such as, inadequate medical treatment and loss of job and relationships, instead of depression as the motivation for suicide.

Quotes

 * 2016 - "Ultimately the best way to prevent suicide in ME/CFS will be to find effective disease-modifying treatments or cures for it."