Dansie, Elizabeth J, Heppner, Pia, Furberg, Helena et al. · Psychosomatics · 2012 · DOI
This study found that people with ME/CFS are much more likely to have experienced trauma or PTSD than the general population. Researchers surveyed over 8,500 twins and discovered that those with a history of PTSD were 8 times more likely to report ME/CFS, and those with high trauma symptom scores were 4 times more likely to report ME/CFS. The connection remained strong even after accounting for shared family factors.
Understanding the relationship between trauma, PTSD, and ME/CFS may help clinicians identify patients at risk for both conditions and inform treatment strategies. This study suggests that trauma-related factors deserve clinical attention in ME/CFS care, potentially opening new avenues for intervention and research into shared underlying mechanisms.
This study does not establish whether trauma causes ME/CFS, whether ME/CFS causes PTSD, or whether some third factor causes both. The reliance on self-reported diagnoses rather than validated clinical assessments means case definitions may be imprecise. Cross-sectional design prevents determination of temporal relationships or causality.
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
Dansie, Elizabeth J, Heppner, Pia, Furberg, Helena, Goldberg, Jack, Buchwald, Dedra, & Afari, Niloofar (2012). The comorbidity of self-reported chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic symptoms.. Psychosomatics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psym.2011.08.007
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-dansie-2012-comorbidity-self,
author = {Dansie, Elizabeth J and Heppner, Pia and Furberg, Helena and Goldberg, Jack and Buchwald, Dedra and Afari, Niloofar},
title = {The comorbidity of self-reported chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic symptoms.},
journal = {Psychosomatics},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/j.psym.2011.08.007},
note = {PubMed: 22296866},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/dansie-2012-comorbidity-self},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/dansie-2012-comorbidity-self
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