Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cause a large and growing burden of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Prospective cohort studies are key to study multiple risk factors and chronic diseases and are crucial to our understanding of the burden, aetiology and prognosis of NCDs in SSA. We aimed to identify the level of research output on NCDs and their risk factors collected by cohorts in SSA. We conducted a scoping review to map the extent of current NCDs research in SSA by identifying studies published after the year 2000 using prospectively collected cohort data on any of the six NCDs (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancers), ≥1 major risk factor (other than age and sex), set only within SSA, enrolled ≥500 participants, and ≥12 months of follow-up with ≥2 data collection points (or with plans to). We performed a systematic search of databases, a manual search of references lists from included articles and the INDEPTH network website, and study investigators from SSA were contacted for further articles. We identified 30 cohort studies from the 101 included articles. Eighteen countries distributed in West, Central, East and Southern Africa, were represented. The majority (27%) set in South Africa. There were three studies including children, twenty with adults, and seven with both. 53% of cohorts were sampled in general populations, 47% in clinical populations, and 1 occupational cohort study. Hypertension (n = 23) was most commonly reported, followed by obesity (n = 16), diabetes (n = 15), CKD (n = 6), COPD (n = 2), cervical cancer (n = 3), and breast cancer (n = 1). The majority (n = 22) reported data on at least one demographic/environmental, lifestyle, or physiological risk factor but these data varied greatly. Most studies collected data on a combination of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity and few studies collected data on respiratory diseases and cancer. Although most collected data on different risk factors the methodologies varied greatly. Several methodological limitations were found including low recruitment rate, low retention rate, and lack of validated and standardized data collection. Our results could guide potential collaborations and maximize impact to improve our global understanding of NCDs (and their risk factors) in SSA and also to inform future research, as well as policies.

This review aimed at determining the prevalence and incidence of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in Europe. We conducted a primary search in Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science for publications between 1994 and 15 June 2019 (PROSPERO: CRD42017078688). Additionally, we performed a backward-(reference lists) and forward-(citations) search of the works included in this review. Grey literature was addressed by contacting all members of the European Network on ME/CFS (EUROMENE). Independent reviewers searched, screened and selected studies, extracted data and evaluated the methodological and reporting quality. For prevalence, two studies in adults and one study in adolescents were included. Prevalence ranged from 0.1% to 2.2%. Two studies also included incidence estimates. In conclusion, studies on the prevalence and incidence of ME/CFS in Europe were scarce. Our findings point to the pressing need for well-designed and statistically powered epidemiological studies. To overcome the shortcomings of the current state-of-the-art, EUROMENE recommends that future research is better conducted in the community, reviewing the clinical history of potential cases, obtaining additional objective information (when needed) and using adequate ME/CFS case definitions; namely, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention−1994, Canadian Consensus Criteria, or Institute of Medicine criteria.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease presenting with extreme fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and other symptoms. In the absence of a diagnostic biomarker, ME/CFS is diagnosed clinically, although laboratory tests are routinely used to exclude alternative diagnoses. In this analytical cross-sectional study, we aimed to explore potential haematological and biochemical markers for ME/CFS, and disease severity. We reviewed laboratory test results from 272 people with ME/CFS and 136 healthy controls participating in the UK ME/CFS Biobank (UKMEB). After corrections for multiple comparisons, most results were within the normal range, but people with severe ME/CFS presented with lower median values (p < 0.001) of serum creatine kinase (CK; median = 54 U/L), compared to healthy controls (HCs; median = 101.5 U/L) and non-severe ME/CFS (median = 84 U/L). The differences in CK concentrations persisted after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, muscle mass, disease duration, and activity levels (odds ratio (OR) for being a severe case = 0.05 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.02–0.15) compared to controls, and OR = 0.16 (95% CI = 0.07–0.40), compared to mild cases). This is the first report that serum CK concentrations are markedly reduced in severe ME/CFS, and these results suggest that serum CK merits further investigation as a biomarker for severe ME/CFS.

Background: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, multifaceted disease that affects millions globally. Despite its significant impact, the disease's etiology remains poorly understood, and symptom heterogeneity poses challenges for diagnosis and treatment. Joint hypermobility, commonly seen in hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), has been observed in ME/CFS patients but its prevalence and clinical significance within this population are not well-characterized.Objective: To compare the characteristics of ME/CFS patients with and without joint hypermobility (JH+ and JH-) as assessed using the Beighton scoring system, and to explore whether JH+ ME/CFS patients exhibit distinct disease characteristics, comorbidities, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).Methods: The study used cross-sectional, self-reported data from 815 participants of the You + ME Registry. Participants were categorized as JH+ or JH- based on self–assessed Beighton scores and compared across demographics, comorbidities, family history, and symptoms. HRQOL was assessed using the Short Form-36 RAND survey and Karnofsky Performance Status.Results: 15.5% (N = 126) of participants were classified as JH+. JH+ participants were more likely to be female, report Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and a family history of EDS. They experienced worse HRQOL, particularly in physical functioning and pain, and a higher number of autonomic, neurocognitive, headache, gut, and musculoskeletal symptoms. Sensitivity analysis suggested that ME/CFS with concurrent JH+ and EDS was associated with more severe symptoms and greater functional impairment.Conclusion: ME/CFS patients with joint hypermobility, particularly those with EDS, demonstrate distinct clinical characteristics, including more severe symptomatology and reduced HRQOL. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive clinical assessments of ME/CFS patients with joint hypermobility. Understanding these relationships could aid in subgroup identification, improving diagnosis, and informing targeted therapeutic approaches. Further research is warranted to explore these associations and their implications for clinical practice.

In high-income settings, body mass index (BMI) and measures of central adiposity, such as waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are associated with cardiometabolic risk, but evidence from low-income settings, particularly sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), is limited. We assessed whether there are differences between central and general adiposity in their associations with fasting glucose, diabetes, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and hypertension, and whether these associations differ with gender or rural/urban setting in Malawi. We used data from a population-based study of 27 880 Malawian adults aged ≥18 years, from both rural and urban areas. We used age-standardized z-scores of the means of BMI and WHR to directly compare their associations with glycaemic and blood pressure outcomes. Mean fasting glucose and blood pressure values and odds of hypertension increased linearly across fifths of BMI and WHR, with stronger associations with BMI. For both BMI and WHR, the associations with outcomes were stronger in urban versus rural residents. The association with diabetes was stronger in women than men, whereas for blood-pressure related outcomes a stronger association was seen in men. BMI is more strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk in SSA, and might be a more useful measure than WHR, in this population. The greater positive association of adiposity with cardiometabolic outcomes in urban residents (where rates of overweight/obesity are already high) highlights the particular importance of addressing obesity within urban SSA populations.

Background: Estimations of Lyme disease incidence rates in the United Kingdom vary. There is evidence that this disease is associated with fatigue in its early stage but reports are contradictory as far as long-term fatigue is concerned. Methods and findings: A population-based historical cohort study was conducted on patients treated in general practices contributing to IQVIA Medical Research Data: 2,130 patients with a first diagnosis of Lyme disease between 2000 and 2018 and 8,510 randomly-sampled patients matched by age, sex, and general practice, followed-up for a median time of 3 years and 8 months. Main outcome measure was time to consultation for (1) any fatigue-related symptoms or diagnosis; or (2) myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated from Cox models. Average incidence rate for Lyme disease across the UK was 5.18 per 100,000 person-years, increasing from 2.55 in 2000 to 9.33 in 2018. In total, 929 events of any types of fatigue were observed, leading to an incidence rate of 307.90 per 10,000 person-years in the Lyme cohort (282 events) and 165.60 in the comparator cohort (647 events). Effect of Lyme disease on any subsequent fatigue varied by index season: adjusted HRs were the highest in autumn and winter with 3.14 (95%CI: 1.92–5.13) and 2.23 (1.21–4.11), respectively. For ME/CFS, 17 events were observed in total. Incidence rates were 11.76 per 10,000 person-years in Lyme patients (12 events) and 1.20 in comparators (5 events), corresponding to an adjusted HR of 16.95 (5.17–55.60). Effects were attenuated 6 months after diagnosis but still clearly visible. Conclusions: UK primary care records provided strong evidence that Lyme disease was associated with subsequent fatigue and ME/CFS. Albeit weaker on the long-term, these effects persisted beyond 6 months, suggesting patients and healthcare providers should remain alert to fatigue symptoms months to years following Lyme disease diagnosis.