Stubhaug, Bjarte, Lier, Haldis O, Aßmus, Jörg et al. · Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018 · DOI
This study tested whether a 4-day treatment program combining education, cognitive therapy, mindfulness, physical activity, and writing could help people with ME/CFS. Over 300 patients participated and were followed for one year. About 80% of patients showed meaningful improvement in fatigue and physical functioning that lasted throughout the year, and nearly all patients were satisfied with the program.
ME/CFS has limited effective treatments, and this study suggests a concentrated multimodal intervention may produce sustained improvements in fatigue and functioning. The high retention rate and patient satisfaction indicate acceptability, and the 1-year follow-up provides evidence of durability rather than temporary benefit.
This open uncontrolled study cannot prove the 4-day program caused the improvements; patients may have improved due to natural remission, placebo effects, attention, or the expectation of benefit. The lack of a control group means we cannot rule out that similar outcomes would occur without intervention. Additionally, the Oxford criteria case definition may include heterogeneous patient populations.
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
Stubhaug, Bjarte, Lier, Haldis O, Aßmus, Jörg, Rongve, Arvid, & Kvale, Gerd (2018). A 4-Day Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Program for CFS/ME. An Open Study, With 1-Year Follow-Up.. Frontiers in psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00720
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-stubhaug-2018-day-mindfulness,
author = {Stubhaug, Bjarte and Lier, Haldis O and Aßmus, Jörg and Rongve, Arvid and Kvale, Gerd},
title = {A 4-Day Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Program for CFS/ME. An Open Study, With 1-Year Follow-Up.},
journal = {Frontiers in psychiatry},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00720},
note = {PubMed: 30618889},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/stubhaug-2018-day-mindfulness},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/stubhaug-2018-day-mindfulness
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