Naschitz, Jochanan E, Rozenbaum, Michael, Shaviv, Nomi et al. · Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.) · 2004 · DOI
This study compared two different questionnaires used to measure fatigue in ME/CFS patients and other groups with fatigue. Researchers found that a simple one-question fatigue scale and a more detailed multi-part fatigue scale gave very similar results, suggesting the simpler tool works just as well for tracking how severe someone's fatigue is.
Choosing the right tool to measure fatigue is crucial for both clinical care and research. This study provides evidence that ME/CFS patients and clinicians can use a simple, quick fatigue severity scale without sacrificing accuracy, making fatigue monitoring more practical in clinical settings and reducing patient burden in research studies.
This study does not establish whether either questionnaire accurately captures the underlying biological mechanisms of ME/CFS fatigue or distinguishes ME/CFS from other fatiguing conditions. Correlation between two measurements does not prove that the simpler scale detects all relevant changes in fatigue over time, nor does it address whether fatigue questionnaires correlate with objective biomarkers of disease activity.
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 →
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Primary citation
Naschitz, Jochanan E, Rozenbaum, Michael, Shaviv, Nomi, Fields, Madeline C, Enis, Sean, Babich, Jay P, et al. (2004). The feeling of fatigue--fatigue severity by unidimensional versus composite questionnaires.. Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.). https://doi.org/10.3200/BMED.29.4.167-174
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-naschitz-2004-feeling-fatigue,
author = {Naschitz, Jochanan E and Rozenbaum, Michael and Shaviv, Nomi and Fields, Madeline C and Enis, Sean and Babich, Jay P and Manor, Hagit and Yeshurun, Daniel and Sabo, Edmond and Rosner, Itzhak},
title = {The feeling of fatigue--fatigue severity by unidimensional versus composite questionnaires.},
journal = {Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.)},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.3200/BMED.29.4.167-174},
note = {PubMed: 15369197},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/naschitz-2004-feeling-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/naschitz-2004-feeling-fatigue
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