Comiskey, C, Larkan, F · Irish journal of medical science · 2010 · DOI
This study surveyed 211 people in Ireland with a diagnosed ME/CFS to understand their journey to diagnosis and how the illness affected their lives. On average, people visited 4-5 different healthcare services before being diagnosed, and it took nearly 4 years to get a diagnosis (though some waited much longer). Patients reported that their quality of life got significantly worse after developing ME/CFS, and they strongly asked for doctors to have better training and understanding of the condition.
This study documents the substantial diagnostic delay and healthcare burden experienced by ME/CFS patients, highlighting a critical gap in medical knowledge. By quantifying the deterioration in quality of life and identifying physician education as patients' top priority, it provides evidence-based advocacy for improving clinical recognition and training in ME/CFS diagnosis.
This study does not prove causes of diagnostic delay or determine whether longer diagnostic pathways cause worse quality of life outcomes. It cannot establish whether improved physician education would actually reduce diagnostic times, as it is observational rather than interventional. The findings are specific to Ireland and may not generalize to other healthcare systems.
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
Comiskey, C & Larkan, F (2010). A national cross-sectional survey of diagnosed sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: pathways to diagnosis, changes in quality of life and service priorities.. Irish journal of medical science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-010-0585-0
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-comiskey-2010-national-cross,
author = {Comiskey, C and Larkan, F},
title = {A national cross-sectional survey of diagnosed sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: pathways to diagnosis, changes in quality of life and service priorities.},
journal = {Irish journal of medical science},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1007/s11845-010-0585-0},
note = {PubMed: 20872086},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/comiskey-2010-national-cross},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/comiskey-2010-national-cross
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