Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37898798›Full record

SynthesisJournal of translational medicine2023

Evaluation of viral infection as an etiology of ME/CFS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jae-Hyun Hwang, Jin-Seok Lee, Hyeon-Muk Oh, Eun-Jung Lee, Eun-Jin Lim, Chang-Gue Son

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of translational medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
5.6field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials for the Treatment of Long COVID Syndrome.Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives · 2026
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Observational
  13. Possible Racial Disparities in the Diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jae-Hyun HwangKorean Medical College of Daejeon University, 62, Daehak-Ro, Dong-Gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 34520.
Jin-Seok LeeInstitute of Bioscience and Integrative Medicine, Daejeon University, 62 Daehak-Ro, Dong-Gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 34520.
Hyeon-Muk OhInstitute of Bioscience and Integrative Medicine, Daejeon University, 62 Daehak-Ro, Dong-Gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 34520.
Eun-Jung LeeDepartment of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Daejeon University, 176 Daedeok-Daero, Seo-Gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 35235.
Eun-Jin LimDepartment of Integrative Medicine, Graduate School of Integrative Medicine, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-Ro, Bundang-Gu, Seongnam-city, 13488, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea.
Chang-Gue SonInstitute of Bioscience and Integrative Medicine, Daejeon University, 62 Daehak-Ro, Dong-Gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 34520. ckson@dju.ac.kr.ORCID 0000-0003-4876-0167
Daejeon University · KRCHA University · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMyalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a long-term disabling illness without a medically explained cause. Recently during COVID-19 pandemic, many studies have confirmed the symptoms similar to ME/CFS in the recovered individuals. To investigate the virus-related etiopathogenesis of ME/CFS, we conducted a systematic assessment of viral infection frequency in ME/CFS patients.

methodsWe conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed and the Cochrane Library from their inception through December 31, 2022, using selection criteria of viral infection prevalence in ME/CFS patients and controls. Subsequently, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the extent of viral infections' contribution to ME/CFS by comparing the odds ratio between ME/CFS patients and controls (healthy and/or diseased).

resultsFinally, 64 studies met our eligibility criteria regarding 18 species of viruses, including a total of 4971 ME/CFS patients and 9221 control subjects. The participants included healthy subjects and individuals with one of 10 diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia. Two DNA viruses (human herpes virus (HHV)-7 and parvovirus B19, including their co-infection) and 3 RNA viruses (borna disease virus (BDV), enterovirus and coxsackie B virus) showed odds ratios greater than 2.0 compared with healthy and/or diseased subjects. Specifically, BDV exceeded the cutoff with an odds ratio of ≥ 3.47 (indicating a "moderate association" by Cohen's d test) compared to both healthy and diseased controls.

conclusionThis study comprehensively evaluated the risk of viral infections associated with ME/CFS, and identified BDV. These results provide valuable reference data for future studies investigating the role of viruses in the causation of ME/CFS.

Indexed as

EncephalitisFatigue Syndrome, ChronicVirus DiseasesFibromyalgiaHumansChronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)Disease causationEtiopathogenesisMeta-analysisMyalgic encephalitis (ME)Odds ratioViral infection

Identifiers

PMID37898798
PMCPMC10612276
OpenAlexW4388001952

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.