Allanson, J, Bass, C, Wade, D T · Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2002 · DOI
This study looked at 25 patients with severe disability and neurological symptoms that doctors couldn't explain with standard tests. Most patients were in wheelchairs and very limited in daily activities, though they had been given different diagnoses—some psychiatric, some neurological. The researchers found that many of these patients had experienced trauma, had received psychiatric treatment, or had switched from self-harm to physical disability around the same time.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS because it highlights the overlap between medically unexplained neurological disability, psychiatric comorbidities, and trauma history in severely disabled patients. Understanding these intersecting factors may help clinicians better recognize and support patients with ME/CFS who experience similar diagnostic uncertainty and functional severity.
This study does not prove that psychiatric diagnoses cause ME/CFS or that psychological factors are the primary driver of disability in all medically unexplained cases. The small sample size, lack of control group, and cross-sectional design prevent causal inference about the relationship between trauma, psychiatric illness, and disability onset.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Allanson, J, Bass, C, & Wade, D T (2002). Characteristics of patients with persistent severe disability and medically unexplained neurological symptoms: a pilot study.. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.73.3.307
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-allanson-2002-characteristics-patients,
author = {Allanson, J and Bass, C and Wade, D T},
title = {Characteristics of patients with persistent severe disability and medically unexplained neurological symptoms: a pilot study.},
journal = {Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1136/jnnp.73.3.307},
note = {PubMed: 12185165},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/allanson-2002-characteristics-patients},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/allanson-2002-characteristics-patients
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