SynthesisMedicine2019
Evidence of altered cardiac autonomic regulation in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- The evidence base for physiotherapy in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome when considering post-exertional malaise: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of translational medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Associations Between Psychological and Immunological Variables in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of acupuncture-based traditional Chinese medicine therapies for chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Multimodal approach to identify neuropsychophysiological subgroups in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and their relevance for rehabilitation: protocol for a mechanistic cross-sectional and longitudinal study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Autonomic Dysfunction in Patients withPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Perioperative outcomes in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome undergoing general anesthesia: a retrospective matched-pair study.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Article
- 'I Want Everyone to Have It, and Everyone to Be on It': A Feasibility Study of the Transforming Long Covid Intervention.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Imbalance of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitter Systems in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Dysautonomia in Long COVID is Prevalent and Could Explain the Frequency of Symptoms.Clinical medicine & research · 2026Article
- Central origin of fatigability in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome revealed by multimodal neuroimaging.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Article
- Shared autonomic phenotype of long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.PloS one · 2026Article
- Diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome using beat-to-beat autonomic measurements.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Decreased Heart Rate Variability Is Associated with Increased Fatigue Across Different Medical Populations: A Systematic Review.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2025Review
- Autonomic Dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): Findings from the Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of ME/CFS (MCAM) Study in the USA.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- 'The Second Arrow': A Collaborative Autoethnographic Exploration of What Can Be Learned From One Long COVID Journey.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Machine learning and multi-omics in precision medicine for ME/CFS.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- The potential causes of myasthenia and fasciculations in severely ill ME/CFS patients: the role of disturbed electrophysiology.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Fatigue, interoplastic and nociplastic distress in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War Illness, and chronic idiopathic fatigue.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Cardiopulmonary and metabolic responses during a 2-day CPET in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: translating reduced oxygen consumption to impairment status to treatment considerations.Journal of translational medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMyalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex condition with no reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Studies have shown evidence of autonomic dysfunction in patients with ME/CFS, but results have been equivocal. Heart rate (HR) parameters can reflect changes in autonomic function in healthy individuals; however, this has not been thoroughly evaluated in ME/CFS.
methodsA systematic database search for case-control literature was performed. Meta-analysis was performed to determine differences in HR parameters between ME/CFS patients and controls.
resultsSixty-four articles were included in the systematic review. HR parameters assessed in ME/CFS patients and controls were grouped into ten categories: resting HR (RHR), maximal HR (HRmax), HR during submaximal exercise, HR response to head-up tilt testing (HRtilt), resting HR variability (HRVrest), HR variability during head-up tilt testing (HRVtilt), orthostatic HR response (HROR), HR during mental task(s) (HRmentaltask), daily average HR (HRdailyaverage), and HR recovery (HRR) Meta-analysis revealed RHR (MD ± 95% CI = 4.14 ± 1.38, P < .001), HRtilt (SMD ± 95% CI = 0.92 ± 0.24, P < .001), HROR (0.50 ± 0.27, P < .001), and the ratio of low frequency power to high frequency power of HRVrest (0.39 ± 0.22, P < .001) were higher in ME/CFS patients compared to controls, while HRmax (MD ± 95% CI = -13.81 ± 4.15, P < .001), HR at anaerobic threshold (SMD ± 95% CI = -0.44 ± 0.30, P = 0.005) and the high frequency portion of HRVrest (-0.34 ± 0.22, P = .002) were lower in ME/CFS patients.
conclusionsThe differences in HR parameters identified by the meta-analysis indicate that ME/CFS patients have altered autonomic cardiac regulation when compared to healthy controls. These alterations in HR parameters may be symptomatic of the condition.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.