Poeschla, Brian, Strachan, Eric, Dansie, Elizabeth et al. · Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2013 · DOI
This study looked at whether personality traits like emotional stability and sociability are connected to chronic fatigue and ME/CFS. Researchers studied 245 pairs of twins and found that people who are more emotionally unstable tend to have more chronic fatigue, while people who are less outgoing also experience more fatigue. Interestingly, emotional instability and fatigue appear to be linked through shared genes, but low sociability may actually contribute to fatigue in a way that works both directions.
Understanding the relationship between personality traits and ME/CFS could help explain why some individuals develop chronic fatigue and inform more targeted interventions. By distinguishing between genetic and environmental contributions, this research suggests that personality-based approaches may be relevant to fatigue management, particularly for reducing social withdrawal and isolation.
This study cannot establish that personality traits cause ME/CFS, only that they are associated. The cross-sectional design means causality cannot be definitively determined even for extraversion. Additionally, findings about personality associations do not explain the underlying biological mechanisms of ME/CFS or validate any specific treatment approaches.
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
Poeschla, Brian, Strachan, Eric, Dansie, Elizabeth, Buchwald, Dedra S, & Afari, Niloofar (2013). Chronic fatigue and personality: a twin study of causal pathways and shared liabilities.. Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9463-5
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-poeschla-2013-chronic-fatigue,
author = {Poeschla, Brian and Strachan, Eric and Dansie, Elizabeth and Buchwald, Dedra S and Afari, Niloofar},
title = {Chronic fatigue and personality: a twin study of causal pathways and shared liabilities.},
journal = {Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1007/s12160-012-9463-5},
note = {PubMed: 23361410},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/poeschla-2013-chronic-fatigue},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/poeschla-2013-chronic-fatigue
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