Bogaerts, Katleen, Hubin, Morgane, Van Diest, Ilse et al. · Behaviour research and therapy · 2007 · DOI
This study looked at how people with ME/CFS breathe differently depending on how they mentally cope with their illness. Researchers found that when patients imagined resisting or fighting against their illness, their breathing changed in ways that made their symptoms worse. In contrast, when patients imagined accepting their illness, their breathing stayed more stable and symptoms improved. This suggests that our psychological response to ME/CFS may directly affect how our body breathes and which symptoms we experience.
This study provides mechanistic evidence linking psychological coping responses to objective physiological changes (breathing patterns) in ME/CFS, suggesting that hostile resistance to illness may create a self-perpetuating cycle of hyperventilation and symptom exacerbation. Understanding this mind-body connection offers potential targets for psychological interventions and validates patient reports that mental stress worsens physical symptoms. The findings support integrated treatment approaches combining psychological support with physiological management.
This study does not prove that hyperventilation causes ME/CFS or that psychological coping is the primary driver of the illness. It demonstrates correlation between coping imagery and breathing changes during laboratory conditions, but does not establish whether acceptance-based coping can sustainably improve ME/CFS outcomes in real-world settings. The small sample size and short-term nature of the trials limit conclusions about long-term clinical benefit.
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
Bogaerts, Katleen, Hubin, Morgane, Van Diest, Ilse, De Peuter, Steven, Van Houdenhove, Boudewijn, Van Wambeke, Peter, et al. (2007). Hyperventilation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of coping strategies.. Behaviour research and therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2007.07.003
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bogaerts-2007-hyperventilation-patients,
author = {Bogaerts, Katleen and Hubin, Morgane and Van Diest, Ilse and De Peuter, Steven and Van Houdenhove, Boudewijn and Van Wambeke, Peter and Crombez, Geert and Van den Bergh, Omer},
title = {Hyperventilation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of coping strategies.},
journal = {Behaviour research and therapy},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1016/j.brat.2007.07.003},
note = {PubMed: 17719001},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bogaerts-2007-hyperventilation-patients},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bogaerts-2007-hyperventilation-patients
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