Ickmans, Kelly, Meeus, Mira, Kos, Daphne et al. · Clinical rheumatology · 2013 · DOI
This study looked at whether cognitive problems (thinking, memory, attention) in women with ME/CFS are related to pain severity. Researchers gave cognitive tests and questionnaires to 29 women with ME/CFS and 17 healthy women. They found that cognitive problems were NOT linked to pain levels, but were connected to fatigue and mental health, suggesting that cognitive difficulties in ME/CFS may work differently than in other chronic pain conditions.
This study provides objective evidence that cognitive impairment in ME/CFS is clinically real and measurable, not merely a reflection of pain or exaggeration. It challenges the assumption that cognitive problems in ME/CFS follow the same patterns as other chronic pain conditions, potentially leading to better recognition and validation of cognitive symptoms in clinical practice.
This cross-sectional study cannot establish causality—it shows associations only, not whether fatigue causes cognitive problems or vice versa. The small sample (29 patients) and female-only cohort limit generalizability to male patients and larger populations. The study does not assess post-exertional malaise (PEM), a hallmark feature of ME/CFS, so findings may not fully represent disease-specific cognitive dysfunction.
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
Ickmans, Kelly, Meeus, Mira, Kos, Daphne, Clarys, Peter, Meersdom, Geert, Lambrecht, Luc, et al. (2013). Cognitive performance is of clinical importance, but is unrelated to pain severity in women with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Clinical rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-013-2308-1
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ickmans-2013-cognitive-performance,
author = {Ickmans, Kelly and Meeus, Mira and Kos, Daphne and Clarys, Peter and Meersdom, Geert and Lambrecht, Luc and Pattyn, Nathalie and Nijs, Jo},
title = {Cognitive performance is of clinical importance, but is unrelated to pain severity in women with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Clinical rheumatology},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1007/s10067-013-2308-1},
note = {PubMed: 23737111},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ickmans-2013-cognitive-performance},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ickmans-2013-cognitive-performance
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.