Table 1 Characteristics of study participants
ME/CFS cases (N = 16) | Healthy controls (N = 16) | P value* case vs. control* | |
|---|---|---|---|
Age (years) | 55 (46.5;62.5) | 54 (49.5;65) | 0.76 |
BMI (kg/m2) | 25.1 (21.7;31.5) | 20.8 (19.2;23.9) | 0.03 |
Skinfold thickness (mm)** | 8 (7;10) | 7 (5;10) | 0.49 |
Ethnicity (Caucasian vs. other) | 15 (94%) | 13 (81%) | 0.60 |
Fukuda definition | 16 (100%) | 0 (0%) | <0.0005 |
Fatigue Severity Scale | 61 (56.5;63) | 17 (13.5;21.5) | <0.0005 |
Orthostatic intolerance | 1 (6.3%) | 4 (25.0%) | 0.3 |
Number of tender points | 1 (0;6) | 0 (0;0) | 0.009 |
Hemoglobin (g/L) | 134 (130;137) | 131.5 (125.5;137.5) | 0.47 |
Ferritin (μg/L) | 43.5 (25;73.5) | 43 (24;84) | 1.00 |
Acyl carnitine (umol/L) | 11.5 (8.3;15.0) | 12.3 (8.9;14.0) | 1.00 |