Causes of death

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Causes of Death in ME/CFS
1 All causes, 2 Top 3 causes of death, 3 Suicide,
4 Cardiovascular Problems, 5 Cancer
Source: Fatigue. 2016; 4(4): 195–207[1]

Statistics on the causes of death of myalgic encephalomyalitis (ME) and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients vary greatly. Some factors that influence statistics on cause of death include case definitions, regional differences, access to medical resources, and the presence of comorbid illnesses.

Age of deaths due to ME/CFS[edit | edit source]

In England and Wales, most people whose deaths were caused fully or partly by ME/CFS were of working age, with the youngest dying their late teens.[2]

Deaths caused partly or fully by ME/CFS, England and Wales, 2001 - 2016.
Source: Office of National Statistics.[2]
Deaths caused partly or fully by ME/CFS, England and Wales, 2001 - 2016.
Source: Office of National Statistics.[2]

Deaths from ME/CFS are very rare, and ME/CFS is rarely recorded on death certificates. In England and Wales, between 2001 and 2016, 88 death certificates stated that the death was either partly or fully caused by myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome,[2] which is less than six deaths per year.

Life expectancy[edit | edit source]

Life expectancy studies in ME/CFS have generally shown lowered life expectancy, with a higher all-cause mortality found by McManimen et al. (2016). Analysis from an online memorial showing over half of ME/CFS patients died of heart failure, suicide or cancer, with ages of death from both suicide and cancer being considered earlier than in the general population.[3] A study of elderly ME/CFS patients with cancer by

Chang et al. (2012) found Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) found rates were significantly higher in ME/CFS patients than the general US population, especially diffuse large B cell lymphoma.[4]

Notable studies[edit | edit source]

  • 2016, Mortality in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome[1] - (Full Text)
  • 2016, Mortality of people with chronic fatigue syndrome: a retrospective cohort study in England and Wales from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Biomedical Research Centre (SLaM BRC) Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) Register - (Full text)
Criticism by James Coyne: Bad stats, non sequitur conclusions in Lancet chronic fatigue syndrome/suicide study.[5]
  • 2015, Pathology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Pilot Study of Four Autopsy Cases[6] - (Full text)
  • 2012, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and subsequent risk of cancer among elderly US adults[4] - (Full text)
  • 2010, Exploring the feasibility of establishing a disease-specific post-mortem tissue bank in the UK: a case study in ME/CFS[7] - (Full text)
  • 2009, Coenzyme Q10 deficiency in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is related to fatigue, autonomic and neurocognitive symptoms and is another risk factor explaining the early mortality in ME/CFS due to cardiovascular disorder[8] - (Abstract)
  • 2006, Causes of death among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome[3] - (Full text)
  • 2006, Mortality in a cohort of chronically fatigued patients[9] - (Abstract)

Learn more[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 McManimen, Stephanie L.; Devendorf, Andrew R.; Brown, Abigail A.; Moore, Billie C.; Moore, James H.; Jason, Leonard A. (2016). "Mortality in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome". Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior. 4 (4): 195-207. doi:10.1080/21641846.2016.1236588.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Mentions of postviral fatigue syndrome (benign myalgic encephalomyelitis), deaths registered in England and Wales, 2001 to 2016 - Office for National Statistics". ons.gov.uk. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jason, LA; Corradi, K; Gress, S; Williams, S; Torres-Harding, S (2006). "Causes of death among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome". Health Care for Women International. 27 (7): 615-26. PMID 16844674.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chang, Cindy M.; Warren, Joan L.; Engels, Eric A. (December 1, 2012). "Chronic fatigue syndrome and subsequent risk of cancer among elderly US adults". Cancer. 118 (23): 5929–5936. doi:10.1002/cncr.27612. PMC 3434293. PMID 22648858.
  5. ↑ Coyne, James C. (February 16, 2016). "Bad stats, non sequitur conclusions in Lancet chronic fatigue syndrome/suicide study". Quick Thoughts. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  6. ↑ O’Donovan, D., Harrower, T., Cader, S., Findley, L., Shepherd, C., Chaudhuri, A., ... & UK, E. H. (2010). Pathology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Pilot Study of four autopsy cases. In International Science Symposium 3-4–Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Queensland, Australia: Population Health and Neuroimmunology Unit, Bond University
  7. ↑ Lacerda, Eliana M.; Nacul, Luis; Pheby, Derek; Shepherd, Charles; Spencer, Peter (November 1, 2010). "Exploring the feasibility of establishing a disease-specific post-mortem tissue bank in the UK: a case study in ME/CFS". Journal of Clinical Pathology. 63 (11): 1032–1034. doi:10.1136/jcp.2010.082032. ISSN 0021-9746. PMID 20924033.
  8. ↑ Maes, Michael; Mihaylova, Ivanka; Kubera, Marta; Uytterhoeven, Marc; Vrydags, Nicolas; Bosmans, Eugene (2009). "Coenzyme Q10 deficiency in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is related to fatigue, autonomic and neurocognitive symptoms and is another risk factor explaining the early mortality in ME/CFS due to cardiovascular disorder". Neuro Endocrinology Letters. 30 (4): 470–476. ISSN 0172-780X. PMID 20010505.
  9. ↑ Smith, WR; Noonan, C; Buchwald, D (2006). "Mortality in a cohort of chronically fatigued patients". Psychological Medicine. 36 (9): 1301-6. doi:10.1017/S0033291706007975. PMID 16893495.
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