Severe Cognitive and Sleep Symptoms in ME/CFS and MS

[Gemini]

Study of 395 UK BioBank participants finds cognitive and sleep problems more common in ME/CFS patients than in MS patients and healthy controls.

BMC Neurol. 2017 Jun 20;17(1):117.
Prevalence of and risk factors for severe cognitive and sleep symptoms in ME/CFS and MS.
Jain V1, Arunkumar A2, Kingdon C3, Lacerda E3, Nacul L3.
Author information
1
Guy's Campus, King's College London School of Medicine, London, SE1 1UL, UK. vageesh.jain@kcl.ac.uk.
2
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
3
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, CURE-ME Team, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Disability and Eye Health Group, International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED, K/490, Keppel St, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28633629

 

[Rooney]

What wonderful ammunition to fight the psychobabblers. A really great study! I can't wait for more from this UK biobank.

 

[DoggerFisher]

Not sure - it might prove we don't sleep because we're worrying how to afford cigarettes on less than £15,000 a year...

 

[Londinium]

Not sure - it might prove we don't sleep because we're worrying how to afford cigarettes on less than £15,000 a year...

Yeah, the abstract isn't massively helpful as it doesn't even try to consider the massive confounding factors here. To be fair to the authors they do at least attempt to consider a possible reason in the main report (lower income = increased stress = poorer sleep) and also note that similar correlations have been found in healthy people in other studies. However, they could have also looked at the opposite direction of causation (poorer sleep/worse cognition = less likely to be able to hold down job).

As for smoking, not a massive surprise that poorer circulation and carbon monoxide impairs cognition if it's already under strain.

Other bit I found interesting (and not in the abstract):

Unlike MS, the severity of these symptoms seems to be unrelated to depression, and might reflect more generalised and subtle abnormalities in the CNS.

 

[Rooney]

Not sure - it might prove we don't sleep because we're worrying how to afford cigarettes on less than £15,000 a year...

That's hilarious.
A patient with low income cannot afford to see a ME/CFS specialist or pay for help with daily tasks. Pay for a takeout meal, grocery shopper, vacuuming or laundry. A specialist put me on proper sleep meds.

 

[DoggerFisher]

Other bit I found interesting (and not in the abstract):

Yes that IS interesting! More of that!

 

[Demepivo]

Abstract

Background
There are considerable phenotypic and neuroimmune overlaps between myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). While the precise aetiologies of both MS and ME/CFS are unclear, evidence suggests that deterioration in cognitive function is widely prevalent in patients with either condition. Little is known about differing risk factors or exposures, which may lead to severe cognitive or sleep symptoms. This study aims to gauge the extent of cognitive and sleep symptoms in ME/CFS and MS patients participating in the UK ME/CFS Biobank and identify the characteristics of those experiencing severe symptoms.

Methods
This was a cross-sectional study of 395 UK ME/CFS Biobank participants, recruited from primary care and the community, using similar standardised protocols, and matched by age, sex and geographical area. Data were collected from participants using a standardized written questionnaire at clinical visits. Cognitive symptoms included problems with short-term memory, attention, and executive function. Sleep symptoms included unrefreshing sleep and poor quality or inadequate duration of sleep. All participants reported symptoms based on an ordinal severity scale. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out in the ME/CFS group to investigate socio-demographic factors associated with severe symptoms.

Results
All cognitive and sleep symptoms were more prevalent in the ME/CFS group, with ‘trouble concentrating’ (98.3%) the most commonly reported symptom. Severe symptoms were also more commonly reported in the ME/CFS group, with 55% reporting ‘severe, unrefreshing sleep’. Similarly, in the MS group, the most commonly reported severe symptoms were sleep-related. Logistic regression analysis revealed that ME/CFS patients aged over 50 years were more than three times as likely to experience severe symptoms than those younger than 30 (OR 3.23, p = 0.031). Current smoking was associated with severe symptoms, increasing the risk by approximately three times (OR 2.93, p = 0.003) and those with household incomes of more than £15,000 per year were less likely to experience severe symptoms compared to those earning less than this (OR 0.31, p = 0.017).

Conclusions
Cognitive and sleep symptoms are more common in ME/CFS patients than in MS patients and healthy controls, providing further support for existing evidence of central nervous system abnormalities in ME/CFS. Our findings suggest that people with ME/CFS who are smokers, or have a low income, are more likely to report severe cognitive and sleep symptoms. Future research should aim to develop strategies to prevent the progression of severe cognitive and sleep symptoms through early interventions that prioritise patients identified as being at highest risk.

Keywords
ME/CFS MS Risk factors Cognitive symptoms Sleep Severity

 

[lansbergen]

As for smoking, not a massive surprise that poorer circulation and carbon monoxide impairs cognition if it's already under strain

I still smoke like a chimey and improve slowly.

 

[Gemini]

This was a cross-sectional study of 395 UK ME/CFS Biobank participants... Data were collected from participants using a standardized written questionnaire at clinical visits.

Re: sleep symptoms, the study below by Drs. Klimas & Fletcher published 4 months ago used questionnaires plus blood testing revealing inflammatory cytokine abnormalities, IL-1a, IL-6 and TNF.

Given the Nacul team used Biobank participants, could they follow-up their study with specimen testing of the same participants/controls to see if they get similar results as reported here:

Poor sleep quality is associated with greater circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and severity and frequency of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) symptoms in women.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28038892

 

[TiredSam]

What wonderful ammunition to fight the psychobabblers. A really great study! I can't wait for more from this UK biobank.

That's why Crawley is so desperate to set up an alternative biobank with looser diagnostic criteria - using the already existing UK biobank wouldn't allow her to get the results she wants half as easily as stacking her own biobank with people who have Crawley Fatigue Syndrome and carefully pre-selecting her scientists. Then she can keep churning out her drivel whilst claiming it has the legitimacy of a "biobank" and "science".

 

[Little Bluestem]

I still smoke like a chimey and improve slowly.

That doesn't mean it is a good idea.

 

[lansbergen]

That doesn't mean it is a good idea.

It is for me. I need it.