Table 1.
Clinical and demographic characteristics of study participants—discovery phase
| ME (N = 61) | HC (N = 20) | |
|---|---|---|
| Proteomic cohort | ||
| Age (years) | 51.7 ± 1.5 | 47.9 ± 2.5 |
| Sex (male/female) | 20/41 | 11/9 |
| BMI | 25.0 ± 0.6 | 25.0 ± 0.9 |
| Ilness duration | 13.6 ± 1.7 | N/A |
| 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF36) | ||
| Physical score | 31.0 ± 1.6*** | 92.0 ± 1.2 |
| Mental score | 47.0 ± 3*** | 89.0 |
| Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 (MFI) Scores | ||
| General fatigue | 18.0 ± 0.3*** | 6.0 ± 0.5 |
| Physical fatigue | 18.0 ± 0.3*** | 5.0 ± 0.4 |
| Reduced activity | 16.0 ± 0.4*** | 6.0 ± 0.5 |
| Reduced motivation | 10.0 ± 0.4*** | 6.0 ± 0.4 |
| Mental fatigue | 15.0 ± 0.5*** | 7.0 ± 0.5 |
| DePaul Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ) Scores | ||
| Neuroendocrine, Autonomic and Immune Dysfunction score | 40.0 ± 2.2*** | 6.0 ± 1.0 |
| Cognitive Dysfunction score | 56.0 ± 2.5*** | 11.0 ± 2.0 |
| Post-exertional malaise score (PEM) | 69.0 ± 2.4*** | 7.0 ± 1.0 |
| Sleep Disturbance score | 49.0 ± 2.2*** | 14.0 ± 2.0 |
Values for the different SF-36, MFI-20 and DSQ categories are described as scores. All data are represented as mean ± standard error of the mean. A two-tailed Student's t-test was used for the comparison between ME/CFS patients and healthy controls. The questionnaire scores were significantly different between ME vs. HC. ***p-value < 0.001