A synthetic data generation system for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome questionnaires 2023,Lacasa et al

Abstract


Artificial intelligence or machine-learning-based models have proven useful for better understanding various diseases in all areas of health science. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) lacks objective diagnostic tests. Some validated questionnaires are used for diagnosis and assessment of disease progression. The availability of a sufficiently large database of these questionnaires facilitates research into new models that can predict profiles that help to understand the etiology of the disease.

A synthetic data generator provides the scientific community with databases that preserve the statistical properties of the original, free of legal restrictions, for use in research and education. The initial databases came from the Vall Hebron Hospital Specialized Unit in Barcelona, Spain. 2522 patients diagnosed with ME/CFS were analyzed. Their answers to questionnaires related to the symptoms of this complex disease were used as training datasets. They have been fed for deep learning algorithms that provide models with high accuracy [0.69–0.81].

The final model requires SF-36 responses and returns responses from HAD, SCL-90R, FIS8, FIS40, and PSQI questionnaires. A highly reliable and easy-to-use synthetic data generator is offered for research and educational use in this disease, for which there is currently no approved treatment.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40364-6

 

“Therefore, each subject to be diagnosed with ME/CFS must undergo a Fukuda criteria evaluation and procedure that each unit has established using batteries of validated self-administered questionnaires. “ “Patients were eligible to participate if they were 18 years, had a confirmed diagnosis of ME/CFS, met the Fukuda33 and Carruthers criteria34, and provided signed written informed consent and ethics committee approval. “ Carruthers criteria in this case means IOM criteria.

If a hospital is using Fukunda I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t actually deal with ME/CFS, especially when their treatment advise is GET & CBT https://hospital.vallhebron.com/en/healthcare/diseases/chronic-fatigue-syndrome#4.

I suppose you can publish anything as long as you somehow mention AI, but as always "Gargabe in, Gargabe out".

 

Press release (November 21)
“AI and synthetic patients to improve diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome”

https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/news/...is-ai-synthetic-patients-chronic-fatigue.html

 

Who's going to tell them that the reason ME is difficult to diagnose is not actually that it's difficult to diagnose?