Table 4.
Comparison of pathology markers, questionnaire results and serum Activin B for ME/CFS sub-cohorts stratified by the Weighted Standing Time (WST) symptom severity scale, including a control cohort of healthy participants. WST 0 and 1 (Table 2) data were pooled prior to analysis. Results summarised as medians and 25th–75th IQR.
| Blood/Serum/Urine Marker | Weighted Standing Time Median [25th–75th] | p-Value * | ||
| WST 0 (n) | WST 1 (n) | WST 2 (n) | ||
| MCH (pg) | 30.8 (36) (29.9–31.4) | 30.2 (38) (28.8–30.9) | 30.9 (23) (30.2–31.6) | 0.03 |
| Lymphocytes (×109/L) | 2.0 (36) (1.6–2.6) | 1.95 (38) (1.5–2.2) | 2.1 (23) (1.8–2.5) | 0.15 |
| Neutrophils (×109/L) | 3.9 (36) (2.8–5.2) | 4.1 (38) (2.9–4.9) | 3.5 (23) (2.5–4.5) | 0.34 |
| Platelets (×109/L) | 254.5 (36) (214.3–305.0) | 256.5 (38) (219.5–305.8) | 273.0 (23) (251.0–300.0) | 0.45 |
| Serum Sodium (mmol/L) | 141 (35) (140–142) | 141.5 (38) (141–142) | 141 (23) (140–142) | 0.07 |
| Serum Bicarbonate (mmol/L) | 29 (35) (28–31) | 29.5 (38) (28–31.3) | 29 (23) (27–30) | 0.52 |
| Serum Urea (mmol/L) | 5.1 (35) (4.6–6.4) | 5.4 (38) (3.9–6.1) | 4.5 (23) (4.0–5.1) | 0.08 |
| Serum Creatinine (µmol/L) | 74 (35) (69–84) | 76 (38) (66.8–84.8) | 71 (23) (65–77) | 0.13 |
| ALP (U/L) | 64 (36) (53.3–77.5) | 72.5 (38) (62–85.3) | 60 (23) (45–74) | 0.014 |
| PTH (pmol/L) | 5.9 (34) (4.7–8.4) | 5.6 (38) (3.7–8.4) | 5.2 (23) (2.9–6.5) | 0.19 |
| Urinary Creatinine Excretion Rate (mmol/24 h) | 12.7 (29) (8.3–15.3) | 9.4 (31) (7.7–12) | 10.2 (21) (9.2–10.9) | 0.13 |
| Activin B (pg/mL) | 103.36 (36) (78.57–148.78) | 80.73 (38) (71.27–107.81) | 89.74 (23) (70.48–133.19) | 0.15 |
| Survey Results | WST 0 (n) | WST 1 (n) | WST 2 (n) | p -Value * |
| DASS (Total) ^ | 11 (33) (6.5–29.5) | 28 (26) (15.3–47.3) | 28 (12) (16.3–54.5) | 0.004 |
| Epworth Sleep Scale | 4 (33) (3–6) | 7 (26) (3–12) | 6.5 (12) (3.3–10.8) | 0.015 |
| Age (Years) | 43 (36) (36.3–50) | 54.5 (38) (43–61.3) | 42.00 (23) (36–53) | 0.007 |
Weighted Standing Time (symptom severity scale during standing test)—WST 0 (Healthy Controls + mild symptoms - WST 1, Table 3); WST 1 (ME/CFS - Moderate); WST 2 (ME/CFS - Severe)—See Table 1b. IQR (Inter-Quartile Range). * p-value set at p < 0.05 (Bonferroni correction not required for Kruskal–Wallis tests). ^ DASS-42 (Depression, Anxiety, Stress total score).