Frank, E, Dingle, A D · The American journal of psychiatry · 1999 · DOI
This study surveyed over 4,500 U.S. women doctors to understand how often they experience depression and attempt suicide. The researchers found that about 1 in 5 women physicians have experienced depression at some point in their lives, and about 1.5% have attempted suicide. Several factors increased the risk, including a history of abuse, substance use, chronic fatigue syndrome, and work-related stress.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS patients because it identifies chronic fatigue syndrome as a significant risk factor associated with depression in a large, well-characterized professional population. Understanding the mental health burden and risk factors in ME/CFS patients—including occupational stress and comorbid conditions—can help inform better screening and support strategies for this vulnerable population.
This study does not establish causation between any risk factors and depression or suicide attempts; it only identifies associations through cross-sectional data. The study is limited to self-reported diagnoses and retrospective recall, which may underestimate or misclassify cases. Notably, the study does not prove that ME/CFS causes depression, only that the two conditions frequently co-occur.
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
Frank, E & Dingle, A D (1999). Self-reported depression and suicide attempts among U.S. women physicians.. The American journal of psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.156.12.1887
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-frank-1999-self-reported,
author = {Frank, E and Dingle, A D},
title = {Self-reported depression and suicide attempts among U.S. women physicians.},
journal = {The American journal of psychiatry},
year = {1999},
doi = {10.1176/ajp.156.12.1887},
note = {PubMed: 10588401},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/frank-1999-self-reported},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/frank-1999-self-reported
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