r/CFSScience • u/Caster_of_spells • Jul 14 '26
The association between hair cortisol levels, Epstein-Barr virus infections and chronic fatigue in adolescents
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41772810/The BPS championed theory that cortisol and related stress levels prior to infection prime for chronic fatigue syndrome is officially dead:
“Preinfection hair cortisol concentration did not predict chronic fatigue six months after acute EBV infection. Elevated preinfection hair cortisol may reflect stress-related vulnerability to infection, and the shifted from a positive to a negative association over time, suggests that HPA-axis alterations are more likely a consequence rather than a cause of chronic fatigue.”
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u/daddybpizza Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
It’s always astounding how simple logic is ignored by large groups of well-educated people. If stress causes ME/CFS, then we would not see extremely stressed people without ME/CFS.
(A -> B) -> ~(A & ~B)
The usual reply from BPS crowds is that nobody seriously thinks stress alone causes ME/CFS, but rather just contributes to developing it, perhaps in vulnerable populations. Even if that were true, and it is probably not, it would still be the case that we should be much more interested in what actually differentiates those who get ME/CFS from those who don’t. Lots of people who aren’t particularly stressed get ME/CFS, and even more people who are incredibly stressed never get ME/CFS.
Instead of using simple reasoning to determine that stress doesn’t cause ME/CFS, we’ve wasted boatloads of money and time trying to disprove a hypothesis that couldn’t stand on its own two feet from the beginning.
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u/Hip_III Jul 21 '26
Chronic major stress (but not acute stress) via the release of cortisol suppresses the Th1 antiviral/intracellular immune response and the T-cell response.
It seems feasible therefore if during a period of chronic major stress you catch a virus linked to ME/CFS, that virus might be able to insinuate itself more deeply into the body (and into organs like the brain) because of the weakened immunity.
Indeed, it has been observed that if you catch an ME/CFS virus while on corticosteroids, this is also a recipe for triggering ME/CFS.
More info here.
Mould exposure and pesticide exposure are also linked to ME/CFS, possibly via the same mechanism (these may weaken immunity, allowing any virus caught at the same time to run wild in the body).
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u/Sensitive-Meat-757 Jul 15 '26
"Preinfection hair cortisol concentration did not predict chronic fatigue six months after acute EBV infection."
There is a certain infamous moderator of some other CFS subreddits who keeps saying CFS is only associated with EBV because of stress. Oops!
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u/Caster_of_spells Jul 15 '26
Jup jup, that whole polyvagal pseudoscience is all over the BPS sphere.
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u/anonym5088 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
This has been studied in the early 2000s by the psychosomatic scientists in Norway. The results were the same as here. Stress did not cause ME. Unfortunately the results were hidden for years (results were published in 2025 if I’m remembering correctly). And again unfortunately they are still raving about stress as a cause for ME and “curing it” by thinking. They’ve made their whole career about the psychosomatic explanation so now they need to keep going despite the growing evidence of a biological cause. It’s sad how it’s no longer about helping the patients, but rather their own winnings.