Clauson, Kevin A, Zeng-Treitler, Qing, Kandula, Sasikiran · Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2010 · DOI
This study examined whether instruction sheets about dietary supplements for diabetes and ME/CFS are written in a way that patients can easily understand. Researchers found that most of these leaflets are written at a college level (13th grade), far harder than the recommended 6th-grade level. This difficulty may make it harder for patients to understand important information and follow recommendations.
For ME/CFS patients, understanding supplement information is crucial for making informed decisions about potential treatments. When patient education materials are too complex, patients may misunderstand dosages, safety concerns, or interactions, leading to poor adherence and potentially harmful outcomes. This study highlights a communication barrier that may affect how well ME/CFS patients can engage with available treatment information.
This study does not prove that complex leaflets directly cause poor patient outcomes or reduced adherence in ME/CFS populations specifically. It also does not test whether simplifying these leaflets would actually improve patient understanding or health outcomes—it only identifies the problem, not the solution. The study was not a clinical trial and does not establish causation between readability and treatment effectiveness.
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
Clauson, Kevin A, Zeng-Treitler, Qing, & Kandula, Sasikiran (2010). Readability of patient and health care professional targeted dietary supplement leaflets used for diabetes and chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.). https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0611
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-clauson-2010-readability-patient,
author = {Clauson, Kevin A and Zeng-Treitler, Qing and Kandula, Sasikiran},
title = {Readability of patient and health care professional targeted dietary supplement leaflets used for diabetes and chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1089/acm.2008.0611},
note = {PubMed: 20064017},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/clauson-2010-readability-patient},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/clauson-2010-readability-patient
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