ArticleScientific reports2020
Systemic Hyperalgesia in Females with Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Gulf War Illness: Neurological Impacts, Pathophysiological Insights, and Therapeutic Prospects.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Cerebrospinal fluid metabolomics, lipidomics and serine pathway dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndroome (ME/CFS).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Possible Racial Disparities in the Diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Exertional Exhaustion (Post-Exertional Malaise, PEM) Evaluated by the Effects of Exercise on Cerebrospinal Fluid Metabolomics-Lipidomics and Serine Pathway in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Fatigue, interoplastic and nociplastic distress in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War Illness, and chronic idiopathic fatigue.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Review
- Article
- Extremely Severe ME/CFS-A Personal Account.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Pain is a diagnostic criterion for Gulf War Illness (GWI), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and fibromyalgia (FM). The physical sign of systemic hyperalgesia (tenderness) was assessed in 920 women who were stratified by 2000 Kansas GWI, 1994 CFS, and 1990 FM criteria. Pressure was applied by dolorimetry at 18 traditional tender points and the average pressure causing pain determined. GWI women were the most tender (2.9 ± 1.6 kg, mean ± SD, n = 70), followed by CFS/FM (3.1 ± 1.4 kg, n = 196), FM (3.9 ± 1.4 kg, n = 56), and CFS (5.8 ± 2.1 kg, n = 170) compared to controls (7.2 ± 2.4 kg, significantly highest by Mann-Whitney tests p < 0.0001, n = 428). Receiver operating characteristics set pressure thresholds of 4.0 kg to define GWI and CFS/FM (specificity 0.85, sensitivities 0.80 and 0.83, respectively), 4.5 kg for FM, and 6.0 kg for CFS. Pain, fatigue, quality of life, and CFS symptoms were equivalent for GWI, CFS/FM and CFS. Dolorimetry correlated with symptoms in GWI but not CFS or FM. Therefore, women with GWI, CFS and FM have systemic hyperalgesia compared to sedentary controls. The physical sign of tenderness may complement the symptoms of the Kansas criteria as a diagnostic criterion for GWI females, and aid in the diagnosis of CFS. Molecular mechanisms of systemic hyperalgesia may provide new insights into the neuropathology and treatments of these nociceptive, interoceptive and fatiguing illnesses.
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Registered trials
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