Symptom-based clusters in people with ME/CFS: an illustration of clinical variety in a cross-sectional cohort.
J Transl Med
; 21(1): 112, 2023 02 10.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36765375
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex, heterogenous disease. It has been suggested that subgroups of people with ME/CFS exist, displaying a specific cluster of symptoms. Investigating symptom-based clusters may provide a better understanding of ME/CFS. Therefore, this study aimed to identify clusters in people with ME/CFS based on the frequency and severity of symptoms.METHODS:
Members of the Dutch ME/CFS Foundation completed an online version of the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire version 2. Self-organizing maps (SOM) were used to generate symptom-based clusters using severity and frequency scores of the 79 measured symptoms. An extra dataset (n = 252) was used to assess the reproducibility of the symptom-based clusters.RESULTS:
Data of 337 participants were analyzed (82% female; median (IQR) age 55 (44-63) years). 45 clusters were identified, of which 13 clusters included ≥ 10 patients. Fatigue and PEM were reported across all of the symptom-based clusters, but the clusters were defined by a distinct pattern of symptom severity and frequency, as well as differences in clinical characteristics. 11% of the patients could not be classified into one of the 13 largest clusters. Applying the trained SOM to validation sample, resulted in a similar symptom pattern compared the Dutch dataset.CONCLUSION:
This study demonstrated that in ME/CFS there are subgroups of patients displaying a similar pattern of symptoms. These symptom-based clusters were confirmed in an independent ME/CFS sample. Classification of ME/CFS patients according to severity and symptom patterns might be useful to develop tailored treatment options.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Síndrome de Fatiga Crónica
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Transl Med
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Países Bajos