Evaluating Routine Blood Tests According to Clinical Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Abstract

There is a lack of research regarding blood tests within individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and between patients and  healthy controls. We aimed to compare results of routine blood tests between  patients and healthy controls. Data from 149 patients diagnosed with ME/CFS based  on clinical and psychiatric evaluation as well as on the DePaul Symptom  Questionnaire, and data from 264 healthy controls recruited from blood donors  were compared. One-way ANCOVA was conducted to examine differences between ME/CFS  patients and healthy controls, adjusting for age and gender. Patients had higher  sedimentation rate (mean difference: 1.38, 95% CI: 0.045 to 2.714), leukocytes  (mean difference: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.248 to 0.932), lymphocytes (mean difference:  0.27, 95% CI: 0.145 to 0.395), neutrophils (mean difference: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.0 89  to 0.591), monocytes (mean difference: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.309 to 0.371), ferritin  (mean difference: 28.13, 95% CI: -1.41 to 57.672), vitamin B12 (mean difference:  83.43, 95% CI: 62.89 to 124.211), calcium (mean difference: 0.02, 95% CI: -0.02  to 0.06), alanine transaminase (mean difference: 3.30, 95% CI: -1.37 to -7.971),  low-density lipoproteins (mean difference: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.104 to 0.796), and  total proteins (mean difference: 1.53, 95% CI: -0.945 to 4.005) than control  subjects. The patients had lower potassium levels (mean difference: 0.11, 95% CI:  0.056 to 0.164), creatinine (mean difference: 2.60, 95% CI: 0.126 to 5.074) and  creatine kinase (CK) (mean difference: 37.57, 95% CI: -0.282 to 75.422) compared  to the healthy controls. Lower CK and creatinine levels may suggest muscle damage  and metabolic abnormalities in ME/CFS patients.