Unequal access to diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis in England (22 April 2025)

Summary

People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS; sometimes referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome) experience poor health-related quality of life and only rarely recover. ME/CFS has no curative treatment, and no single diagnostic test. Public health and policy decisions relevant to ME/CFS require knowledge of its prevalence and barriers to diagnosis. 

The research, published in BMC Public Health, analysed NHS data from more than 62 million people in England to identify people who had been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome or post-viral fatigue syndrome. The data was examined by gender, age and ethnicity, and grouped by different areas of England.

The findings showed that the lifetime prevalence of chronic fatigue for women and men in England may be as high as 0.92% of the population for women, and 0.25% for men. This is equivalent to about 404,000 people overall.