Vitamin D status in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a cohort study from the North-West of England

Earl, Kate E., Sakellariou, Giorgos K., Sinclair, Melanie, Fenech, Manuel, Croden, Fiona, Owens, Daniel J., Tang, Jonathan, Miller, Alastair, Lawton, Clare, Dye, Louise, Close, Graeme L., Fraser, William D., McArdle, Anne and Beadsworth, Michael B. J. (2017) Vitamin D status in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a cohort study from the North-West of England. BMJ Open, 7. ISSN 2044-6055

Preview

PDF (Published manuscript) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (981kB) | Preview

Abstract

Objective: Severe vitamin D deficiency is a recognised cause of skeletal muscle fatigue and myopathy. The aim of this study was to examine whether Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is associated with altered circulating vitamin D metabolites. Design: Cohort study. Setting: UK university hospital, recruiting from April 2014 to April 2015. Participants: 92 patients with CFS/ME and 94 age-matched healthy controls. Main outcome measures: The presence of a significant association between CFS/ME, fatigue and vitamin D measures. Results: No evidence of a deficiency in serum total 25[OH] vitamin D (25[OH]D2 and 25[OH]D3 metabolites) was evident in individuals with CFS/ME. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed that total 25[OH]D was significantly higher (p = 0.001) in serum of CFS/ME patients compared with healthy controls (60.2 and 47.3nmol/L respectively). Analysis of food/supplement diaries with WinDiets revealed that the higher total 25[OH] vitamin D concentrations observed in the CFS/ME group were associated with increased vitamin D intake through use of supplements compared with the control group. Analysis of Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire data revealed no association between perceived fatigue and vitamin D levels. Conclusions: Low serum concentrations of total 25 [OH]D do not appear to be a contributing factor to the level of fatigue of CFS/ME.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	chronic fatigue syndrome,myalgic encephalomyelitis,vitamin d,supplements,me
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Musculoskeletal Medicine Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Metabolic Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	16 Nov 2017 06:04
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2025 07:13
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/65465
DOI:	10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015296

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item