Eglinton, Rebekah, Chung, Man Cheung · Psychiatry research · 2011 · DOI
This study looked at whether people with ME/CFS have higher rates of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and whether trauma-related stress affects fatigue levels. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients did experience more PTSD symptoms and traumatic life events than healthy controls, but surprisingly, the severity of PTSD symptoms did not directly predict how severe their fatigue was. Instead, a sense of helplessness was more strongly linked to both fatigue and mental health problems.
This research challenges the assumption that PTSD and trauma directly cause ME/CFS fatigue, suggesting instead that psychological factors like helplessness and coping styles may be more important drivers of symptom severity. Understanding these distinct pathways could help clinicians tailor psychological interventions more effectively for ME/CFS patients with trauma histories.
This study does not prove that PTSD causes ME/CFS or that treating PTSD will reduce fatigue severity. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or the direction of relationships. Additionally, the study did not measure pain, which the authors suggest may be a key factor linking PTSD and CFS symptoms.
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
Eglinton, Rebekah & Chung, Man Cheung (2011). The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, illness cognitions, defence styles, fatigue severity and psychological well-being in chronic fatigue syndrome.. Psychiatry research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2011.04.012
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-eglinton-2011-relationship-between,
author = {Eglinton, Rebekah and Chung, Man Cheung},
title = {The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, illness cognitions, defence styles, fatigue severity and psychological well-being in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Psychiatry research},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1016/j.psychres.2011.04.012},
note = {PubMed: 21600664},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/eglinton-2011-relationship-between},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/eglinton-2011-relationship-between
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