Torres-Harding, Susan R, Jason, Leonard A, Cane, Victoria et al. · International journal of psychiatry in medicine · 2002 · DOI
This study looked at whether doctors correctly identify psychiatric conditions (like depression or anxiety) in patients with ME/CFS compared to other groups. Researchers found that doctors often missed psychiatric disorders when they were present, but they rarely incorrectly diagnosed someone as having a psychiatric condition when they didn't. Interestingly, patients themselves were often better at recognizing their own psychiatric symptoms than their physicians were.
This research addresses a critical clinical gap: physicians often fail to recognize psychiatric comorbidities in ME/CFS patients, potentially leaving treatable conditions unaddressed. The finding that patient self-report may be more reliable than physician assessment for detecting psychiatric disorders suggests that clinician screening practices may need improvement, and patient input should be weighted more heavily in psychiatric case identification.
This study does not establish whether psychiatric disorders cause ME/CFS fatigue or vice versa—it only shows patterns of diagnosis recognition. The cross-sectional design means we cannot determine if physician underrecognition leads to worse outcomes or if certain physician characteristics predict better diagnostic accuracy. Small sample sizes limit generalizability to broader CFS 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
Torres-Harding, Susan R, Jason, Leonard A, Cane, Victoria, Carrico, Adam, & Taylor, Renee R (2002). Physicians' diagnoses of psychiatric disorders for people with chronic fatigue syndrome.. International journal of psychiatry in medicine. https://doi.org/10.2190/PNF9-XFWJ-DA24-R3PU
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-torres-harding-2002-physicians-diagnoses,
author = {Torres-Harding, Susan R and Jason, Leonard A and Cane, Victoria and Carrico, Adam and Taylor, Renee R},
title = {Physicians' diagnoses of psychiatric disorders for people with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {International journal of psychiatry in medicine},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.2190/PNF9-XFWJ-DA24-R3PU},
note = {PubMed: 12269593},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/torres-harding-2002-physicians-diagnoses},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/torres-harding-2002-physicians-diagnoses
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