Stormorken, Eva, Jason, Leonard A, Kirkevold, Marit · BMC public health · 2017 · DOI
This study interviewed 26 adults who developed severe fatigue lasting at least four years after a bacterial infection (Giardia). Researchers asked them about their experiences and what factors made their illness better or worse. The study found that both the healthcare system (like delayed diagnosis and doctors dismissing symptoms) and personal choices (like ignoring body signals or pushing too hard) significantly affected how people's illness progressed over time.
This study addresses the critical gap in understanding how modifiable factors—both within healthcare systems and within patients' own decision-making—shape long-term outcomes in post-infectious fatigue. Identifying these factors could enable more timely, tailored interventions and reduce unnecessary disability and healthcare costs for ME/CFS patients.
This qualitative study cannot establish causal relationships between specific factors and illness trajectory—it describes associations and patient experiences. The findings are specific to one post-infection cohort (Giardia-induced) and may not generalize to other PIFS triggers or ME/CFS populations. The retrospective design means findings depend on participants' memory and interpretation of past events.
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
Stormorken, Eva, Jason, Leonard A, & Kirkevold, Marit (2017). Factors impacting the illness trajectory of post-infectious fatigue syndrome: a qualitative study of adults' experiences.. BMC public health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4968-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-stormorken-2017-factors-impacting,
author = {Stormorken, Eva and Jason, Leonard A and Kirkevold, Marit},
title = {Factors impacting the illness trajectory of post-infectious fatigue syndrome: a qualitative study of adults' experiences.},
journal = {BMC public health},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1186/s12889-017-4968-2},
note = {PubMed: 29237442},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/stormorken-2017-factors-impacting},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/stormorken-2017-factors-impacting
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