Prevalence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in three regions of England: a repeated cross-sectional study in primary care

Table 7 Reported symptoms in ME/CFS prevalent cases according to compliance with Canadian criteria and non-cases^a

Current symptoms		Compliance with Canadian criteria
		No (n = 97) (%)	Yes (n = 125) (%)	Non-case (n = 122) (%)
Sleep dysfunction	Unrefreshing sleep	93.8^d	100.0^b	63.1
	Sleep problems	74.2^b	97.6 ^d	56.6
Neurological/Cognitive manifestations	Memory/concentration problems	89.7^d	97.6^b	54.1
	Difficulty thinking	69.1^d	93.6 ^d	42.6
	Unexplained muscle weakness	60.8^c	88.0 ^d	41.0
	Light/noise sensitivity	44.3^b	82.4 ^d	28.7
	Difficulty in understanding things	37.1	77.6 ^d	32.0
	Confusion or disorientation	28.9	78.4 ^d	26.2
Pain	Pain in two or more joints	89.7^d	94.4 ^d	46.7
	Muscle pain	86.6^d	95.2 ^b	48.4
	Muscle discomfort	82.5^d	93.6 ^b	48.4
	Migratory joint pain	71.1^d	87.2 ^c	40.2
	Headaches	51.5^c	76.0 ^d	32.8
	Migraine	15.5	39.2 ^d	21.3
Fatigue/tiredness	Fatigue after exercise (> 24 hours)	52.6^b	100.0 ^d	37.0
	Intolerance to exercise	50.5^b	84.8 ^d	34.4
	Malaise after exertion (> 24 hours)	41.2^b	85.6 ^d	26.2
Psychological	Anxiety	63.0	88.0 ^d	56.6
	Depression	50.5	75.2 ^d	41.0
Autonomic	Sweatiness/cold hands and feet	42.3	88.8 ^d	38.5
	Intolerance to be on your feet	38.1^b	80.8^d	24.6
Immunological	Sore throat	37.1	71.2 ^d	27.0
	Tender glands in the neck/armpits	36.1	73.6 ^d	27.9
	Mild fever or chills	23.7	77.6 ^d	29.5

^aAll cases met the CDC-1994 criteria; P-values are shown for comparisons of proportions of symptoms between cases that do not conform to the Canadian criteria and non-cases; and between cases that conform to Canadian criteria and non-cases. The following symbols show respective P-values: ^bP < 0.05; ^c P < 0.005; ^d P≤0.001; the results comparing ECD with other diagnostic criteria and non-cases are not presented due to small numbers.

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