Jason, Leonard A, Plioplys, Audrius V, Torres-Harding, Susan et al. · Journal of health psychology · 2003 · DOI
This study compared ME/CFS symptoms between two groups of patients: those who sought care at major medical centers and those found in the general community. Researchers found that people being treated at tertiary care hospitals reported experiencing more symptoms than community members with ME/CFS. This suggests that the people typically studied in research may not represent all people living with ME/CFS.
Many ME/CFS research findings come from patients treated at major medical centers, but this study shows those patients may have different symptom patterns than people with ME/CFS in the broader community. Understanding these differences is crucial for ensuring research results represent the full spectrum of ME/CFS experiences and for improving care across different healthcare settings.
This study does not prove that tertiary care causes more symptoms or that community-based patients have milder disease. It cannot determine whether differences reflect selection bias in who gets referred to tertiary centers, differences in symptom severity at diagnosis, or variations in how symptoms are reported. Correlation between sample type and symptom frequency does not establish causation.
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, Leonard A, Plioplys, Audrius V, Torres-Harding, Susan, & Corradi, Karina (2003). Comparing symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome in a community-based versus tertiary care sample.. Journal of health psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053030084005
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jason-2003-comparing-symptoms,
author = {Jason, Leonard A and Plioplys, Audrius V and Torres-Harding, Susan and Corradi, Karina},
title = {Comparing symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome in a community-based versus tertiary care sample.},
journal = {Journal of health psychology},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1177/13591053030084005},
note = {PubMed: 19127712},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-2003-comparing-symptoms},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jason-2003-comparing-symptoms
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