Mariman, An, Vogelaers, Dirk, Hanoulle, Ignace et al. · Journal of psychosomatic research · 2012 · DOI
This study tested whether a sleep questionnaire commonly used in research works properly for people with ME/CFS. Researchers asked 413 patients with ME/CFS to fill out the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which measures sleep problems. They found that the questionnaire best divides sleep issues into three separate categories: sleep efficiency (how much time you actually sleep), perceived sleep quality (how good your sleep feels), and daily disturbances (how tiredness affects daytime functioning).
Sleep disturbance is a cardinal feature of ME/CFS, and accurate measurement tools are essential for both clinical assessment and research. This study demonstrates that the PSQI should be scored and interpreted using three separate domains rather than a single overall score in ME/CFS populations, which could improve the precision of sleep assessment and inform better treatment strategies.
This study does not establish what causes sleep disturbances in ME/CFS or whether improving sleep quality leads to clinical improvement. It is a validation study only—it confirms that the PSQI's structure works in CFS patients but does not measure treatment effectiveness or establish causality between sleep problems and other ME/CFS symptoms.
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
Mariman, An, Vogelaers, Dirk, Hanoulle, Ignace, Delesie, Liesbeth, Tobback, Els, & Pevernagie, Dirk (2012). Validation of the three-factor model of the PSQI in a large sample of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients.. Journal of psychosomatic research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2011.11.004
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mariman-2012-validation-three,
author = {Mariman, An and Vogelaers, Dirk and Hanoulle, Ignace and Delesie, Liesbeth and Tobback, Els and Pevernagie, Dirk},
title = {Validation of the three-factor model of the PSQI in a large sample of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients.},
journal = {Journal of psychosomatic research},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/j.jpsychores.2011.11.004},
note = {PubMed: 22281451},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mariman-2012-validation-three},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mariman-2012-validation-three
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