Lian, Olaug S, Bondevik, Hilde · Sociology of health & illness · 2015 · DOI
This study looked at how doctors have understood exhaustion illnesses over time, comparing medical writings from 1860-1930 with those from 1970-2013. Researchers found that how these conditions were described and who had them changed dramatically: what was once seen as a physical disease affecting high-status men became viewed as a mental health problem affecting mostly women. The authors suggest these changes reflect cultural beliefs and values of each era, not just scientific discovery.
This research is important because it demonstrates that how ME/CFS is understood by the medical profession is shaped not only by science but also by cultural attitudes and historical context. Understanding this history helps patients recognize that dismissal or psychiatric reframing of exhaustion illnesses reflects social bias rather than scientific evidence, and helps contextualize ongoing debates about disease conceptualization.
This study does not prove that ME/CFS is actually a psychiatric disorder or a purely physical disease. It does not establish causation or demonstrate whether current medical constructions are more or less accurate than historical ones; rather, it shows how cultural factors influence medical interpretation. The study also does not examine what patients actually experience or the biological mechanisms underlying exhaustion illnesses.
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
Lian, Olaug S & Bondevik, Hilde (2015). Medical constructions of long-term exhaustion, past and present.. Sociology of health & illness. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12249
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lian-2015-medical-constructions,
author = {Lian, Olaug S and Bondevik, Hilde},
title = {Medical constructions of long-term exhaustion, past and present.},
journal = {Sociology of health & illness},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1111/1467-9566.12249},
note = {PubMed: 25912053},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lian-2015-medical-constructions},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lian-2015-medical-constructions
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.