Loades, Maria E, Rimes, Katharine A, Lievesley, Kate et al. · International journal of adolescent medicine and health · 2018 · DOI
This study asked teenagers with ME/CFS and their parents what they thought caused the illness. Most believed it was triggered by a virus or stressful life events. Interestingly, teenagers and parents largely agreed with each other about the causes. Many teenagers weren't sure how long it would take them to recover, suggesting doctors should better inform young patients about what to expect.
Understanding what patients and families believe about ME/CFS causes and recovery can improve clinical communication and reduce harmful misconceptions. This study identifies a gap in prognostic counseling that, if addressed, could improve psychosocial outcomes in adolescent ME/CFS patients.
This study does not prove that viral infection or stress actually causes ME/CFS—it only describes what patients and parents believe. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether beliefs about causation influence recovery or treatment engagement. The study was conducted at a specialist unit and may not represent all adolescents with ME/CFS.
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
Loades, Maria E, Rimes, Katharine A, Lievesley, Kate, Ali, Sheila, & Chalder, Trudie (2018). Illness beliefs of adolescents with CFS and their parents: the perceived causes of illness and beliefs about recovery.. International journal of adolescent medicine and health. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2017-0197
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-loades-2018-illness-beliefs,
author = {Loades, Maria E and Rimes, Katharine A and Lievesley, Kate and Ali, Sheila and Chalder, Trudie},
title = {Illness beliefs of adolescents with CFS and their parents: the perceived causes of illness and beliefs about recovery.},
journal = {International journal of adolescent medicine and health},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1515/ijamh-2017-0197},
note = {PubMed: 30118437},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/loades-2018-illness-beliefs},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/loades-2018-illness-beliefs
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