Bennett, Barbara Kaye, Goldstein, David, Chen, Michelle et al. · Psychosomatic medicine · 2014 · DOI
This study developed and tested a structured interview tool to help doctors better distinguish between different types of fatigue, including ME/CFS, fatigue after cancer treatment, and depression-related fatigue. Researchers interviewed women with different fatigue conditions and found the tool was very accurate at identifying ME/CFS and depression, though less reliable for cancer-related fatigue. The tool may help doctors more accurately diagnose why patients are experiencing fatigue.
Accurate diagnosis of ME/CFS is challenging because its symptoms overlap with depression and other fatigue conditions. This study provides evidence that a structured diagnostic interview can reliably distinguish ME/CFS from depression and other fatigue states, potentially improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing misdiagnosis. Better diagnostic tools support appropriate treatment pathways and reduce harm from inappropriate psychiatric management of medical fatigue conditions.
This study does not establish the biological mechanisms underlying different fatigue types, nor does it prove causation for how conditions develop. The cross-sectional design for some cohorts limits causal inference about disease progression. Findings reflect this specific population (primarily women in specialist practices) and may not generalize to all ME/CFS patients or those in primary care settings.
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
Bennett, Barbara Kaye, Goldstein, David, Chen, Michelle, Davenport, Tracey A, Vollmer-Conna, Ute, Scott, Elizabeth M, et al. (2014). Characterization of fatigue states in medicine and psychiatry by structured interview.. Psychosomatic medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0000000000000061
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bennett-2014-characterization-fatigue,
author = {Bennett, Barbara Kaye and Goldstein, David and Chen, Michelle and Davenport, Tracey A and Vollmer-Conna, Ute and Scott, Elizabeth M and Hickie, Ian B and Lloyd, Andrew R},
title = {Characterization of fatigue states in medicine and psychiatry by structured interview.},
journal = {Psychosomatic medicine},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1097/psy.0000000000000061},
note = {PubMed: 25076512},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bennett-2014-characterization-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bennett-2014-characterization-fatigue
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