SynthesisBMJ open2022
What treatments work for anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome? An updated systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Long-Term Follow-Up of Women with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): A 16-Year Longitudinal Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Pediatric joint hypermobility: a diagnostic framework and narrative review.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesChildren with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) experience a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety compared with age-matched controls. Our previous systematic reviews in 2015/16 found little evidence for effective treatment for children with CFS/ME with comorbid depression and/or anxiety. This review updates these findings.
designA systematic review. We searched Cochrane library, Medline, Embase and PsycINFO databases from 2015 to 2020. We combined the updated results with our previous reviews in a narrative synthesis.
participantsInclusion criteria: <18 years old; diagnosed with CFS/ME (using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or Oxford criteria); validated measures of depression and/or anxiety.
interventionsObservational studies or randomised controlled trials. COMPARISON: Any or none. OUTCOMES: Studies with outcome measures of anxiety, depression or fatigue.
resultsThe updated review identified two studies. This brings the total number of paediatric CFS/ME studies with a measure of anxiety and/or depression since 1991 to 16. None of the studies specifically targeted depression, nor anxiety. One new study showed the Lightning Process (in addition to specialist care) was more effective at reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms compared with specialist care alone. Previous studies evaluated cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT); pharmacological interventions and behavioural approaches. CBT-type interventions had most evidence for improving comorbid anxiety and/or depressive symptoms but varied in delivery and modality. Other interventions showed promise but studies were small and have not been replicated.
conclusionVery few paediatric CFS/ME intervention studies have been conducted. This review update does not significantly add to what is known from previous reviews. The evidence is of poor quality and insufficient to conclude which interventions are effective at treating comorbid anxiety and/or depression in paediatric CFS/ME. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBERS: CRD42016043488 and CRD42015016813.
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.