Jason, L A, Taylor, S L, Johnson, S et al. · Evaluation & the health professions · 1993 · DOI
This study looked at how common ME/CFS-related symptoms are among nurses. Researchers surveyed a group of nurses and found that when using different definitions of the illness, more nurses showed signs of ME/CFS than had been found in previous studies of the general population. This was the first study to specifically examine ME/CFS in healthcare workers.
This was the first epidemiological study to focus on ME/CFS in a specific occupational population, suggesting that healthcare workers may experience disproportionately high rates of ME/CFS-related symptoms. These findings highlight occupational health concerns and may help identify at-risk populations that warrant further investigation and support.
This study does not prove that nursing work causes ME/CFS, only that symptoms appear more frequently in this population. The cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships or rule out confounding factors. The varying prevalence rates based on different diagnostic criteria also suggest the challenge of defining ME/CFS, rather than confirming true disease prevalence.
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
Jason, L A, Taylor, S L, Johnson, S, Goldston, S E, Salina, D, Bishop, P, et al. (1993). Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome-related symptoms among nurses.. Evaluation & the health professions. https://doi.org/10.1177/016327879301600403
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jason-1993-prevalence-chronic,
author = {Jason, L A and Taylor, S L and Johnson, S and Goldston, S E and Salina, D and Bishop, P and Wagner, L},
title = {Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome-related symptoms among nurses.},
journal = {Evaluation & the health professions},
year = {1993},
doi = {10.1177/016327879301600403},
note = {PubMed: 10130552},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-1993-prevalence-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-1993-prevalence-chronic
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