Possible Racial Disparities in the Diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) a chronic, disabling illness with no established etiopathology. It has been indicated in some population-based studies that Black and ethnic minority populations are underdiagnosed with ME/CFS. The aims of the present study were to (1) identify the agreement between receiving an ME/CFS diagnosis and meeting diagnostic criteria, (2) identify the demographic characteristics associated with receiving a diagnosis, and (3) explore patient satisfaction with healthcare.

Self-reported medical history and symptoms were collected via online survey from respondents with and without fatigue. The agreement between self-reporting an ME/CFS diagnosis and meeting the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) ME/CFS criteria or Institute of Medicine (IOM) criteria was assessed with Cohen’s kappa. Patient characteristics predicting a physician diagnosis were analyzed with logistic regression. Associations between diagnosis, demographics, and healthcare satisfaction were assessed with chi-square tests of independence. There were 1110 responses. The agreement between meeting ME/CFS criteria and reporting an ME/CFS diagnosis was fair (CDC: κ = 0.29; SE = 0.02; IOM: κ = 0.28, SE = 0.03).

White respondents had 2.94 greater odds of being diagnosed with ME/CFS than non-White respondents. Having an ME/CFS diagnosis was associated with dissatisfaction with healthcare (χ² (3, N = 1063) = 14.17, p = 0.003). The findings suggest racial disparities in the diagnostic processes for ME/CFS.