I would be very interested in seeing the full text of this paper/book chapter written by 2 Irish paediatricians if anyone was able to access it. These 2 paediatricians have been deemed sympathetic by some people to the condition so it would be interesting to know more about their views as there are few other options in Ireland. --- Adolescent health Órla Walsh Alf John Nicholson Órla Walsh MB BCh BAO LRCPI & LRCSI MSc Ed FRCPCH is a Consultant Paediatrician with a special interest in Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Health Ireland, Temple Street, Dublin, Ireland. Competing interests: none declared Alf John Nicholson FRCPI FRCPCH is a Professor of Paediatrics and Head of the School of Medicine, RCSI, Bahrain. Competing interests: none declared "Important contributors to morbidity among adolescents include substance use, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), mental illness (e.g. eating disorders), non-communicable diseases (e.g. obesity), and other chronic issues (e.g. chronic fatigue syndrome) which impact their quality of life." "Keywords: adolescence/adolescents; chronic fatigue syndrome; development/neurodevelopment mental illness/eating disorders puberty/growth Includes: "We understand the impact that chronic fatigue syndrome can have on a young person's life and can describe assessment and management of this condition in detail. This is one of several conditions occurring in adolescence that will be …" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2666869622000355
Given the rest of the abstract this is going to be about the environment impacting the adolescents psychological health and resulting in CFS. There is no chance that assessment and management ends up NICE 2021 compliant since its thrown in with mental illnesses. I am really interested to read how STIs are caused by mental health though that is going to be a classic.
The authors recognize the main symptoms (PEM first and foremost) and degrees of severity of ME. They recommend a full biological workup, a neurological evaluation and also advise screening for POTS. However they advise against oversleeping, prolonged bed rest and complete inactivity as they say it leads to deconditioning, and they recommend CBT which they say there is “strong evidence” for. Here is the excerpt on CFS:
I don't read that short paragraph that way. They are simply listing health problems that cause ill health in adolescents. Some are physical diseases, some have a psychological component and some have a behavioural component. They are not saying they are all mental illnesses.