O'Dowd, H, Gladwell, P, Rogers, C A et al. · Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2006 · DOI
This study compared three approaches for managing ME/CFS: group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), education and support groups, and standard medical care. After 12 months, patients who received CBT showed improvements in mental health, fatigue levels, and walking ability compared to standard care, though improvements were modest and many patients did not fully recover.
This high-quality trial provides evidence that group CBT may offer benefit for specific ME/CFS symptoms (fatigue and mood), potentially offering an accessible and cost-effective option through primary care. However, the modest improvements and lack of normalization in physical function highlight the need for better interventions and more precise patient stratification.
This study does not establish that CBT is a cure for ME/CFS or that it improves cognitive function or overall quality of life. The improvements in walking speed and fatigue are modest and do not represent return to normal function for most participants; correlation between psychological factors and symptom improvement does not prove 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
O'Dowd, H, Gladwell, P, Rogers, C A, Hollinghurst, S, & Gregory, A (2006). Cognitive behavioural therapy in chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomised controlled trial of an outpatient group programme.. Health technology assessment (Winchester, England). https://doi.org/10.3310/hta10370
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-odowd-2006-cognitive-behavioural,
author = {O'Dowd, H and Gladwell, P and Rogers, C A and Hollinghurst, S and Gregory, A},
title = {Cognitive behavioural therapy in chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomised controlled trial of an outpatient group programme.},
journal = {Health technology assessment (Winchester, England)},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.3310/hta10370},
note = {PubMed: 17014748},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/odowd-2006-cognitive-behavioural},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/odowd-2006-cognitive-behavioural
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