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Malfunctioning of the autonomic nervous system in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic literature review
Author(s) -
Cauwenbergh Deborah,
Nijs Jo,
Kos Daphne,
Weijnen Laura,
Struyf Filip,
Meeus Mira
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/eci.12256
Subject(s) - autonomic nervous system , chronic fatigue syndrome , heart rate variability , medicine , checklist , stressor , orthostatic intolerance , physical medicine and rehabilitation , heart rate , postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome , tilt table test , physical therapy , psychology , clinical psychology , blood pressure , cognitive psychology
It is hypothesised that the autonomic nervous system responds differently to various stressors in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome ( CFS ) compared with healthy controls. The goal is to systematically review the scientific literature addressing the functioning of the autonomic nervous system in patients with CFS . Materials and methods All studies that were identified through electronic databases ( P ub M ed and W eb of S cience) were screened for eligibility based on the selection criteria and assessed (two independent raters) for methodological quality using a methodological checklist for case–control studies. Results Twenty‐seven case–control studies were included. The methodological quality varied between 50% and 71·4%. Some studies showed different responses to head‐up tilt and other autonomous testing. Conclusion Although comparison between the included case–control studies was difficult, we can conclude that there are differences in autonomous response between patients with CFS and healthy controls. The heart rate dynamic response during the head‐up tilt test differs between patients with CFS and healthy controls, supporting the increased prevalence of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. The autonomic response can be useful for the diagnosis of CFS .