Dörr, Johanna, Nater, Urs · Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie · 2013 · DOI
This article reviews how doctors classify and differentiate between different fatigue conditions, including ME/CFS, burnout, and an older condition called neurasthenia. The authors found that while these conditions share some symptoms, they have important differences—but there currently isn't enough research to clearly separate them. Depression often occurs alongside ME/CFS and burnout, making diagnosis more complicated.
Understanding how ME/CFS differs from other fatigue conditions and depression is crucial for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. This review highlights gaps in current knowledge that researchers need to address, which could improve diagnostic accuracy and help patients receive more targeted care.
This review does not establish definitive diagnostic criteria that can reliably distinguish ME/CFS from burnout or depression in individual patients. It does not prove causative mechanisms for any fatigue syndrome, nor does it provide new empirical data—rather, it synthesizes existing literature and identifies where evidence is insufficient.
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 →
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Primary citation
Dörr, Johanna & Nater, Urs (2013). [Fatigue syndromes--an overview of terminology, definitions and classificatory concepts].. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0032-1327706
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-drr-2013-fatigue-syndromes,
author = {Dörr, Johanna and Nater, Urs},
title = {[Fatigue syndromes--an overview of terminology, definitions and classificatory concepts].},
journal = {Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1055/s-0032-1327706},
note = {PubMed: 23408301},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/drr-2013-fatigue-syndromes},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/drr-2013-fatigue-syndromes
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