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The Family Member ME/CFS Prevalence Poll Take II

Do one of the members of my extended family have an ME/CFS or ME/CFS Like condition?

  • An immediate family member - father, mother, siblings, children has been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 146 29.1%
  • A significant other or partner has been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 17 3.4%
  • A secondary Relative - aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparents, etc. has been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 75 15.0%
  • A far flung relative has been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 20 4.0%
  • An immediate family member has mysterious fatigue but has not been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 104 20.8%
  • A significant other, etc. has mysterious fatigue not been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 23 4.6%
  • A secondary family member has mysterious fatigue but has not been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 50 10.0%
  • A far flung Relative has mysterious fatigue but has not been diagnosed with ME/CFS

    Votes: 9 1.8%
  • No family members have been diagnosed with ME/CFS or have an undiagnosed fatiguing condition

    Votes: 172 34.3%

  • Total voters
    501

Cort

Phoenix Rising Founder
Does ME/CFS crop up in families? Take the poll and lets find out! If at least one member of the following groups has something that appears to be ME/CFS (mysterious fatiguing and debilitating disorder doctors cannot figure out) please check them.
 

Cort

Phoenix Rising Founder

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Hey Cort,
What if you have family members in more than one group? I checked 2 groups, and the checked groups showed up with votes at first, but now one group that I checked has 0 votes.
 

Cort

Phoenix Rising Founder
Could it have been the old Poll that you took? I think I put you can vote for more than one selection - I'll check.

It is a multiple choice poll. Has anyone else had this problem?

Which group needs another vote? I may be able to put it in.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Could it have been the old Poll that you took? I think I put you can vote for more than one selection - I'll check.

It is a multiple choice poll. Has anyone else had this problem?

Which group needs another vote? I may be able to put it in.

No, it was this one. I was the first voter, I think. I'll try to doublecheck, though...
 

urbantravels

disjecta membra
Messages
1,333
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Oh geez, I'm lost. Too many confounding factors.

None of my first-degree relatives have CFS - but then I live thousands of miles away from all of them. So even if I share genetic susceptibility, I may not share a (hypothetical) exposure to Pathogen X. Lot of difference between family members who live together and family members who see each other a few times a year!

My ex-husband and ex-boyfriends all seem pretty healthy AFAIK. I'm concerned about the guys who were around at the time I was actively getting sick...but nothing I can do about that except watch and wait for more data about XMRV and perhaps the widespread availability of testing. :(

Cort, you have a twin?? You could be part of a twin study!!
 

Cort

Phoenix Rising Founder
I was in one actually. A really extensive one about 10 years ago. THey found both twins seemed to have some metabolic problems I think.

This poll is showing high rates of CFS within families! Much higher than the few studies would lead us to believe.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I was in one actually. A really extensive one about 10 years ago. THey found both twins seemed to have some metabolic problems I think.

This poll is showing high rates of CFS within families! Much higher than the few studies would lead us to believe.

And, so far, no correlation with significant others. We have some here, so they exist, but it looks like it might be small numbers. Interesting.
 

urbantravels

disjecta membra
Messages
1,333
Location
Los Angeles, CA
It will be *really* interesting once XMRV testing becomes more widely available, to see if intimate partners of PWCs actually do have XMRV without having become sick.
 

Tembo

Australia
Messages
63
CFS is quite rampant in our family - my mother - her brother and two sisters all suffer debilitating CFS/ME - and interesting to note the 5th sibling is fit and healthy actually lives in a different county - makes me wonder about transmission?
I suffer from it as does my sister and we have 2 cousins that are looking very suspect too. So 6 definitely and another 2 maybe.
 

Frickly

Senior Member
Messages
1,049
Location
Texas
I think this poll would tell us more if it was broadened to autism, cfs, fibro, ms, gwi, lyme, alzheimers (too tired to spell check) and even bipolar disorder. I wonder if we all have a common denominator that manifests itself in different ways? My family has lyme, autism, cfs, bipolar, adhd, ocd and tourettes. Yes...we are really screwed up. :)
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
From Dolphin -

Leonard Jason paper on family illnesses among people with ME/CFS
People might be interested in this Leonard Jason paper from 2008:

People might be interested in this Leonard Jason paper from 2008: Family illnesses among people with ME/CFS: Blood versus non-blood relatives
http://www.forums.aboutmecfs.org/showthread.php?6863-(2008)-Family-illnesses-among-people-with-ME-CFS-Blood-versus-non-blood-relatives

Cort can you edit the link to: http://www.forums.aboutmecfs.org/sh...-with-ME-CFS-Blood-versus-non-blood-relatives - I posted the initial thread earlier but don't know what happened to it.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
And, so far, no correlation with significant others. We have some here, so they exist, but it looks like it might be small numbers. Interesting.

I find that aspect comparision interesting too.. certainly genetic component there (ive always believed that). Seems partners are far less at risk then ones own family.
 

Stone

Senior Member
Messages
371
Location
NC
This is a great poll. I would have wished though that there were questions about how many have MULTIPLE immediate family members with CFS, and how many have MULTIPLE secondary family members, etc. The poll does not differentiate between those who have one family member affected or many family members affected. It could be an eye-opener. I have 3 immediate family members diagnosed, bringing the total diagnosed immediate family members to 4. I also have 2 cousins diagnosed as well. Also, if what I've read of the statistics on early death in CFS are true, you may pick up more accurate information if both living and deceased persons were included, or are they?
 

leaves

Senior Member
Messages
1,193
I find that aspect comparision interesting too.. certainly genetic component there (ive always believed that). Seems partners are far less at risk then ones own family.

I dont think it is genetic but that there is vertical transmission mostly