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. 2022 Jun 11;20:268. doi: 10.1186/s12967-022-03461-0

Table 2.

 Odds ratios for various treatments for patients with and without chronic fatigue syndrome

Variable N Control CFS Odds ratio
n % n % Crude (95% CI) p-value Adjusted (95% CI) p-value
SSRI 2.33 (2.05,2.66)*** < 0.001 1.70 (1.48,1.95)*** < 0.001
 No 11,471 5946 52 5525 48
 Yes 1141 360 32 781 68
SNRI 2.22 (1.77,2.78)*** < 0.001 1.52 (1.20,1.93)*** < 0.001
 No 12,260 6195 51 6065 49
 Yes 352 111 32 241 68
SARI 2.21 (1.95,2.52)*** < 0.001 1.56 (1.35,1.78)*** < 0.001
 No 11,451 5927 52 5524 48
 Yes 1161 379 33 782 67
TCAs 1.79 (1.42,2.28)*** < 0.001 1.37 (1.07,1.76)* 0.01
 No 12,310 6197 50 6113 50
 Yes 302 109 36 193 64
BZD 2.13 (1.98,2.29)*** < 0.001 1.70 (1.57,1.84)*** < 0.001
 No 5368 3260 61 2108 39
 Yes 7244 3046 42 4198 58
NDRI 2.42 (1.67,3.51)*** < 0.001 1.59 (1.08,2.36)* 0.02
 No 12,476 6266 50 6210 50
 Yes 136 40 29 96 71
NaSSA 2.02 (1.57,2.59)*** < 0.001 1.28 (0.98,1.67) 0.08
 No 12,331 6212 50 6119 50
 Yes 281 94 33 187 67
Muscle relaxant 1.80 (1.49,2.19)*** < 0.001 1.52 (1.24,1.86)*** < 0.001
 No 12,150 6139 51 6011 49
 Yes 462 167 36 295 64
Analgesic drug 12.44 (10.12,15.3)*** < 0.001 9.55 (7.72,11.81)*** < 0.001
 No 1173 1071 91 102 9
 Yes 11,439 5235 46 6204 54
Supportive individual psychotherapy 1.90 (1.63,2.21)*** < 0.001 1.28 (1.09,1.51)** 0.003
 No 11,837 6032 51 5805 49
 Yes 775 274 35 501 65
Supportive group psychotherapy 2.29 (1.52,3.45)*** < 0.001 1.52 (0.99,2.35) 0.057
 No 12,504 6273 50 6231 50
 Yes 108 33 31 75 69
Intensive individual psychotherapy 3.95 (2.20,7.12)*** < 0.001 2.73 (1.47,5.04)** 0.001
 No 12,543 6292 50 6251 50
 Yes 69 14 20 55 80
Intensive group psychotherapy 2.13 (0.92,4.93) 0.078 1.57 (0.65,3.78) 0.318
 No 12,587 6298 50 6289 50
 Yes 25 8 32 17 68
Re-educative individual psychotherapy 2.01 (1.72,2.36)*** < 0.001 1.31 (1.11,1.56)** 0.002
 No 11,881 6057 51 5824 49
 Yes 731 249 34 482 66
Re-educative group psychotherapy 2.30 (1.37,3.84)** 0.002 1.49 (0.87,2.56) 0.149
 No 12,543 6285 50 6258 50
 Yes 69 21 30 48 70
Behavior modification assessment
 No 12,612 6306 50 6306 50
 Yes 0 0 0 0 0
Behavior modification planning 1.60 (1.02,2.54)* 0.043 1.15 (0.71,1.86) 0.582
 No 12,534 6276 50 6258 50
 Yes 78 30 38 48 62
Stretching exercise 1.44 (1.26,1.64)*** < 0.001 1.26 (1.10,1.45)*** < 0.001
 No 11,600 5884 51 5716 49
 Yes 1012 422 42 590 58
Therapeutic exercise 1.47 (1.33,1.63)*** < 0.001 1.33 (1.19,1.47)*** < 0.001
 No 10,768 5535 51 5233 49
 Yes 1844 771 42 1073 58
Breathing exercise 1.04 (0.82,1.32) 0.758 0.92 (0.71,1.18) 0.506
 No 12,343 6174 50 6169 50
 Yes 269 132 49 137 51
Reconditioning exercise 1.30 (0.94,1.79) 0.108 1.19 (0.85,1.67) 0.310
 No 12,456 6238 50 6218 50
 Yes 156 68 44 88 56
Multiple physical examinations of sleep 1.48 (1.10,2.00)* 0.011 1.07 (0.78,1.47) 0.676
 No 12,434 6234 50 6200 50
 Yes 178 72 40 106 60
Brainwave examination, sleep or wakefulness 1.60 (1.44,1.77)*** < 0.001 1.40 (1.25,1.55)*** < 0.001
 No 10,825 5590 52 5235 48
 Yes 1787 716 40 1071 60
Brainwave examination for sleep disorders
 No 12,612 6306 50 6306 50
 Yes 0 0 0 0 0

CFS: chronic fatigue syndrome; N: total number of subjects the subgroups; n: number of subjects; CI: confidence interval; SSRI: selective serotonin receptor inhibitors; SNRI: serotonin norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors; SARI: serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitors; TCAs: tricyclic antidepressant; MAOi: Monoamine oxidase inhibitors; BZD: benzodiazepine; *P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001