This recent study of about 30,000 people reported incredibly high rates of people reporting having been diagnosed with CFS in the US:
The Physical and Mental Health of Post-9/11 Female and Male Veterans: Findings from the Comparative Health Assessment, 2025, Dursa et al
If we believe that about 0.4% of the population actually has ME/CFS and that there is no reason for the prevalence to be higher in the US than in other countries where the 0.4% prevalence has been reported, then the rate of misdiagnosis in the US is very high. That's true even if we assume that there was a lot of bias in who answered the survey in this study and take the denominator to be the number of people who were asked the question.
(I haven't double checked all this, so please go to the source before using anywhere.)
The Physical and Mental Health of Post-9/11 Female and Male Veterans: Findings from the Comparative Health Assessment, 2025, Dursa et al
Female nondeployed: 4.6% (3.6–5.7)
Female deployed: 6.9% (6.0–7.8)
Male nondeployed: 2.0% (1.3–2.7)
Male deployed: 4.6% (4.1–5.2)
If we believe that about 0.4% of the population actually has ME/CFS and that there is no reason for the prevalence to be higher in the US than in other countries where the 0.4% prevalence has been reported, then the rate of misdiagnosis in the US is very high. That's true even if we assume that there was a lot of bias in who answered the survey in this study and take the denominator to be the number of people who were asked the question.
(I haven't double checked all this, so please go to the source before using anywhere.)
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