Bentler, Suzanne E, Hartz, Arthur J, Kuhn, Evelyn M · The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2005 · DOI
This study followed 155 people with chronic fatigue over 2 years to see which treatments they found helpful. Researchers asked participants about medications, supplements, exercise, yoga, and support groups they tried. While some treatments like yoga and vitamins were associated with feeling better, other treatments like magnesium and support groups were linked to feeling worse—though it's unclear why.
This study provides preliminary evidence that some accessible interventions (especially yoga) may benefit ME/CFS patients and highlights the need for rigorous randomized controlled trials. Understanding which treatments users find most helpful can guide future research priorities and inform discussions between patients and clinicians about evidence-based options.
This observational study cannot prove that any treatment caused improvement or worsening—people using different treatments may differ in important ways (severity, disease duration, other factors). The finding that magnesium and support groups were associated with worsening does not mean they caused worsening; patients feeling worse may have turned to these interventions. Small sample sizes for individual treatments limit confidence in any single finding.
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
Bentler, Suzanne E, Hartz, Arthur J, & Kuhn, Evelyn M (2005). Prospective observational study of treatments for unexplained chronic fatigue.. The Journal of clinical psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v66n0513
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bentler-2005-prospective-observational,
author = {Bentler, Suzanne E and Hartz, Arthur J and Kuhn, Evelyn M},
title = {Prospective observational study of treatments for unexplained chronic fatigue.},
journal = {The Journal of clinical psychiatry},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.4088/jcp.v66n0513},
note = {PubMed: 15889950},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bentler-2005-prospective-observational},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bentler-2005-prospective-observational
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