Wagner, L I, Jason, L A · NursingConnections · 1997
This study looked at whether job stress in nurses is connected to ME/CFS-like symptoms. Researchers followed 202 nurses with prolonged exhaustion for one year, asking about their symptoms and work conditions. They found that specific workplace hazards—like fear of accidents and poor working environments—were linked to ME/CFS-related symptoms, though not all stressed nurses developed these symptoms.
This research highlights occupational risk factors that may trigger or worsen ME/CFS symptoms in healthcare workers, a population with high exposure to physical and psychological stressors. Understanding these workplace-related triggers can inform workplace accommodations and interventions for affected nurses and may illuminate broader environmental contributions to ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that occupational stress causes ME/CFS, only that certain workplace factors correlate with symptom severity. The cross-sectional nature of the outcome assessment prevents determining whether work conditions preceded symptom development or vice versa. It also cannot explain why many stressed nurses did not develop CFS-related symptoms, suggesting individual vulnerability factors play a role.
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
Wagner, L I & Jason, L A (1997). Outcomes of occupational stressors on nurses: chronic fatigue syndrome--related symptoms.. NursingConnections. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9397874/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wagner-1997-outcomes-occupational,
author = {Wagner, L I and Jason, L A},
title = {Outcomes of occupational stressors on nurses: chronic fatigue syndrome--related symptoms.},
journal = {NursingConnections},
year = {1997},
note = {PubMed: 9397874},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wagner-1997-outcomes-occupational},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wagner-1997-outcomes-occupational
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