Sampalli, Tara, Berlasso, Elizabeth, Fox, Roy et al. · Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2009 · DOI
This study tested whether a 10-week mindfulness and stress reduction program could help women with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and chemical sensitivities. Compared to women on a waiting list, those who completed the program showed significant improvements in psychological distress symptoms both immediately after and three months later. The results suggest that mindfulness-based techniques may be a helpful complementary approach for managing these chronic conditions.
This study provides evidence that psychological stress reduction techniques may help reduce symptom burden in ME/CFS patients. Since psychological distress often accompanies ME/CFS and may worsen symptoms, identifying complementary interventions that safely reduce distress without requiring physical exertion is clinically relevant for patient care and quality of life.
This study does not prove that mindfulness treats the underlying biological dysfunction of ME/CFS itself—it only demonstrates reduction in psychological distress symptoms. The study does not establish whether improvements in psychological measures correlate with improvements in physical fatigue, post-exertional malaise, or other core ME/CFS symptoms. The reliance on self-reported psychological distress measures means results may reflect changes in mood perception rather than objective disease improvement.
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
Sampalli, Tara, Berlasso, Elizabeth, Fox, Roy, & Petter, Mark (2009). A controlled study of the effect of a mindfulness-based stress reduction technique in women with multiple chemical sensitivity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare. https://doi.org/10.2147/jmdh.s5220
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sampalli-2009-controlled-study,
author = {Sampalli, Tara and Berlasso, Elizabeth and Fox, Roy and Petter, Mark},
title = {A controlled study of the effect of a mindfulness-based stress reduction technique in women with multiple chemical sensitivity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.},
journal = {Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.2147/jmdh.s5220},
note = {PubMed: 21197347},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sampalli-2009-controlled-study},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sampalli-2009-controlled-study
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