Van Houdenhove, B, Onghena, P, Neerinckx, E et al. · Journal of psychosomatic research · 1995 · DOI
This study asked whether people who are naturally very active and driven before getting sick might be more likely to develop ME/CFS. Researchers compared 35 ME/CFS patients with three other groups (pain patients, patients with other chronic conditions, and people with anxiety) and found that ME/CFS patients reported being significantly more active and action-oriented before their illness began. This suggests that having a naturally 'busy' or hyperactive lifestyle before becoming ill might play a role in developing ME/CFS.
Understanding premorbid personality traits in ME/CFS may help identify risk factors and inform prevention or early intervention strategies. This work challenges the view that ME/CFS is purely biological and suggests that individual behavioral patterns before illness may contribute to disease manifestation or persistence. Recognizing this connection could improve patient support and therapeutic approaches.
This study does not prove that being action-prone causes ME/CFS, only that patients report having been more active before illness began. The study cannot exclude recall bias (patients may misremember their premorbid activity level) or clarify whether high action-proneness is a true predisposing factor, a consequence of early unrecognized illness, or a coincidental association. Cross-sectional design prevents determination of causality.
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
Van Houdenhove, B, Onghena, P, Neerinckx, E, & Hellin, J (1995). Does high 'action-proneness' make people more vulnerable to chronic fatigue syndrome? A controlled psychometric study.. Journal of psychosomatic research. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(95)00008-9
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-van-houdenhove-1995-does-high,
author = {Van Houdenhove, B and Onghena, P and Neerinckx, E and Hellin, J},
title = {Does high 'action-proneness' make people more vulnerable to chronic fatigue syndrome? A controlled psychometric study.},
journal = {Journal of psychosomatic research},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1016/0022-3999(95)00008-9},
note = {PubMed: 7490698},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/van-houdenhove-1995-does-high},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/van-houdenhove-1995-does-high
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