ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

2921–2940 of 6,188 studies

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have reduced absolute cortical blood flow.

Yoshiuchi, Kazuhiro, Farkas, Jeffrey, Natelson, Benjamin H·Clinical physiology and functional imaging·2006

This study used advanced brain imaging to measure blood flow in the brains of 25 ME/CFS patients and 7 healthy people. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients had less blood flowing to parts of their brain compared to healthy controls, especially those without concurrent psychiatric conditions. This reduced blood flow might help explain some of the cognitive and physical symptoms ME/CFS patients experience.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Screening for psychological distress using internet administration of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome.

McCue, Patricia, Buchanan, Tom, Martin, Colin R·The British journal of clinical psychology·2006

This study tested whether an online questionnaire called the HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) accurately measures anxiety and depression in people with ME/CFS. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS did have higher anxiety and depression scores than healthy controls, but the online format may have artificially inflated these scores. The questionnaire appears useful for screening but measures three different aspects of emotional distress rather than just two as previously thought.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

Premorbid predictors of chronic fatigue.

Kato, Kenji, Sullivan, Patrick F, Evengård, Birgitta et al.·Archives of general psychiatry·2006

This study looked at whether stress and personality traits before someone got sick could predict who would develop chronic fatigue later. Researchers followed nearly 20,000 Swedish twins for 25+ years, measuring their stress levels and personalities in the 1970s, then checking in the late 1990s to see who had developed chronic fatigue-like illness. They found that people who reported higher stress before getting sick were significantly more likely to develop chronic fatigue, though genetic factors played an important role in this relationship.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Activation of human herpesviruses 6 and 7 in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Chapenko, S, Krumina, A, Kozireva, S et al.·Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology·2006

This study looked at whether two common viruses (HHV-6 and HHV-7) that usually stay dormant in the body might be reactivating in people with ME/CFS. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS were more likely to have both viruses active at the same time, and when both were active, their immune cells showed signs of stress. This suggests these viruses might play a role in ME/CFS, though the study cannot prove they cause the disease.

Immune System

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Linear data mining the Wichita clinical matrix suggests sleep and allostatic load involvement in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Gurbaxani, Brian M, Jones, James F, Goertzel, Benjamin N et al.·Pharmacogenomics·2006

Researchers analyzed clinical data from 164 ME/CFS patients and controls to identify patterns that distinguish the condition from health. Using mathematical techniques to find which body measurements best separated the two groups, they found that sleep problems and markers of physical stress (allostatic load) were important—though no single measurement was strongly predictive on its own. The study suggests that ME/CFS may involve multiple interconnected biological changes rather than one simple cause.

Sleep

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

A case control study of premorbid and currently reported physical activity levels in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Smith, Wayne R, White, Peter D, Buchwald, Dedra·BMC psychiatry·2006

This study compared 33 people with chronic fatigue to 33 healthy people of similar age and sex. Researchers asked both groups about their physical activity before and during the study. People with chronic fatigue reported being much more active before they got sick, but now they spend significantly less time standing and walking (about 4 hours per day versus 9 hours for healthy people) and much more time lying down or reclining.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Evaluation of maximal exercise performance, fatigue, and depression in athletes with acquired chronic training intolerance.

St Clair Gibson, A, Grobler, L A, Collins, M et al.·Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine·2006

This study looked at athletes who reported unusual tiredness and couldn't train like they normally could, even though their bodies seemed to work normally during fitness tests. Researchers found that these athletes' muscles and heart/lung capacity were just as strong as athletes without fatigue problems, but they had higher scores for depression and mood problems. The study suggests that the excessive tiredness these athletes felt might be connected to depression rather than a physical problem with their muscles or fitness.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredLongitudinal

Chronic fatigue syndrome-like caseness as a predictor of work status in fatigued employees on sick leave: four year follow up study.

Huibers, M J H, Leone, S S, Kant, I J et al.·Occupational and environmental medicine·2006

This study followed people on sick leave due to fatigue for four years to see whether those who met the clinical criteria for ME/CFS were more likely to remain unable to work. Researchers found that employees meeting CFS criteria at the start were about three times more likely to still be unable to work four years later compared to those with fatigue who didn't meet CFS criteria. This suggests that CFS-like illness is associated with longer-term work disability.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Chronic fatigue syndrome and high allostatic load.

Maloney, Elizabeth M, Gurbaxani, Brian M, Jones, James F et al.·Pharmacogenomics·2006

This study looked at whether people with ME/CFS have higher "allostatic load"—a measure of how much physical stress the body is under based on things like blood pressure, cortisol levels, and waist-to-hip ratio. Researchers compared 43 ME/CFS patients to 60 healthy people and found that ME/CFS patients were about twice as likely to have high allostatic load. This suggests that ME/CFS may involve ongoing physical stress on the body's systems.

Endocrine Disruption

E2 ModerateCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

An empirical delineation of the heterogeneity of chronic unexplained fatigue in women.

Vollmer-Conna, Uté, Aslakson, Eric, White, Peter D·Pharmacogenomics·2006

This study looked at 159 women to understand why chronic fatigue affects people differently. Researchers used statistical analysis to group the women into distinct clusters based on their symptoms, sleep patterns, hormone levels, and stress responses. They found that chronic fatigue is not one single condition, but rather several different conditions with different underlying causes—some linked to sleep problems, others to depression, obesity, or hormonal changes.

Sleep

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredLongitudinal

In search of a new balance. Can high "action-proneness" in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome be changed by a multidisciplinary group treatment?

Van Houdenhove, Boudewijn, Bruyninckx, Karolien, Luyten, Patrick·Journal of psychosomatic research·2006

This study looked at whether people with ME/CFS who tend to be very action-oriented or driven can change this trait through treatment. Researchers asked 62 patients to recall how active and driven they were before getting sick, when they started treatment, and after completing a multidisciplinary program (which included cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise). The treatment did help increase action-proneness, though patients didn't return to their pre-illness levels.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredObservational

Linkages between goal attainment and quality of life for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Query, Michelle, Taylor, Renée R·Occupational therapy in health care·2006

This study looked at whether setting and achieving personal goals could improve quality of life for people with ME/CFS. Forty-seven participants attended eight group sessions where they set goals and tracked their progress. The researchers found that people who made progress toward their goals reported better quality of life, regardless of how severe their fatigue or other symptoms were.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredCase-Control

A case-control study of risk factors for arm pain presenting to primary care services.

Ryall, Claire, Coggon, David, Peveler, Robert et al.·Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)·2006

This study looked at why some people develop arm pain and sought medical help for it. Researchers compared 132 people with arm pain to 127 people without arm pain and found that anxiety, depression, health worry, and having other conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome were all strongly linked to arm pain. Some physical activities like repetitive wrist movements and carrying heavy items were also associated with arm pain, especially when there was a specific diagnosis.

Pain and Sensitization

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

Medical comorbidity in bipolar disorder: implications for functional outcomes and health service utilization.

McIntyre, Roger S, Konarski, Jakub Z, Soczynska, Joanna K et al.·Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)·2006

This study looked at how common medical conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, and asthma are in people with bipolar disorder, and how these extra health problems affect their daily lives. Researchers found that people with bipolar disorder who also had other medical conditions struggled more with work, needed more help from doctors, and were less likely to be employed than those with bipolar disorder alone.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCross-Sectional

How fatigue is related to other somatic symptoms.

van de Putte, E M, Engelbert, R H H, Kuis, W et al.·Archives of disease in childhood·2006

This study compared how fatigue and other body symptoms are connected in healthy teens versus teens with ME/CFS. Researchers found that both groups experience the same types of symptoms—like headaches, muscle pain, and dizziness—but teens with ME/CFS report them as more severe. The study suggests fatigue and these other symptoms are related and exist on a spectrum, rather than being completely separate problems.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredCase-Control

Probing the working memory system in chronic fatigue syndrome: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using the n-back task.

Caseras, Xavier, Mataix-Cols, David, Giampietro, Vincent et al.·Psychosomatic medicine·2006

Researchers used brain imaging to study how people with ME/CFS perform memory tasks. Although patients and healthy people did equally well on the tasks, their brains used different patterns of activity—patients showed unusual activation in certain brain regions during easier tasks and reduced activity in key memory areas during harder tasks. This suggests that people with ME/CFS may need to work harder mentally to achieve the same results.

Cognitive Impairment

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Depression, attribution style and self-esteem in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia patients: is there a link?

Michielsen, H J, Van Houdenhove, B, Leirs, I et al.·Clinical rheumatology·2006

This study looked at whether people with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia who blame external factors (rather than themselves) for problems are protected from depression. Researchers surveyed 85 patients and found that depression was common in both single diagnosis (ME/CFS only) and dual diagnosis (ME/CFS + fibromyalgia) groups. Blaming external factors did not prevent depression in patients with low self-esteem, suggesting that how we think about our situation may not be a key factor in whether we develop depression.

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredLongitudinal

How relevant are exercise capacity measures for evaluating treatment effects in chronic fatigue syndrome? Results from a prospective, multidisciplinary outcome study.

Pardaens, K, Haagdorens, L, Van Wambeke, P et al.·Clinical rehabilitation·2006

This study tested whether a 6-month rehabilitation program combining cognitive therapy and graded exercise improved ME/CFS patients' quality of life and physical fitness. Patients reported significant improvements in how they felt and functioned in daily life, but their measured physical capacity (like strength and endurance on a bike test) only improved modestly. Importantly, feeling better didn't require becoming noticeably fitter—especially for patients who started out less fit.

Interventions

E2 ModerateBehavioralPEM not requiredObservational

To "lump" or to "split" the functional somatic syndromes: can infectious and emotional risk factors differentiate between the onset of chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome?

Moss-Morris, Rona, Spence, Meagan·Psychosomatic medicine·2006

This study followed nearly 600 people who had food poisoning and 240 people who had infectious mononucleosis to see which infections were more likely to lead to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). They found that food poisoning was more likely to trigger IBS, while mononucleosis was more likely to trigger CFS. Anxiety and depression before infection were stronger predictors of developing CFS, while the type of infection itself was the strongest predictor of IBS.

E2 ModerateCohortPEM not requiredObservational

The incidence of fibromyalgia and its associated comorbidities: a population-based retrospective cohort study based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision codes.

Weir, Peter T, Harlan, Gregory A, Nkoy, Flo L et al.·Journal of clinical rheumatology : practical reports on rheumatic & musculoskeletal diseases·2006

This study looked at how often fibromyalgia is diagnosed in a large group of insured people over a 6-year period. The researchers found that fibromyalgia is diagnosed more often in women than men, though not as dramatically as previous studies suggested. People with fibromyalgia were much more likely to also have other conditions like depression, anxiety, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

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Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have reduced absolute cortical blood flow.

Screening for psychological distress using internet administration of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Premorbid predictors of chronic fatigue.

Activation of human herpesviruses 6 and 7 in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Linear data mining the Wichita clinical matrix suggests sleep and allostatic load involvement in chronic fatigue syndrome.

A case control study of premorbid and currently reported physical activity levels in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Evaluation of maximal exercise performance, fatigue, and depression in athletes with acquired chronic training intolerance.

Chronic fatigue syndrome-like caseness as a predictor of work status in fatigued employees on sick leave: four year follow up study.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and high allostatic load.

An empirical delineation of the heterogeneity of chronic unexplained fatigue in women.

In search of a new balance. Can high "action-proneness" in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome be changed by a multidisciplinary group treatment?

Linkages between goal attainment and quality of life for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome.

A case-control study of risk factors for arm pain presenting to primary care services.

Medical comorbidity in bipolar disorder: implications for functional outcomes and health service utilization.

How fatigue is related to other somatic symptoms.

Probing the working memory system in chronic fatigue syndrome: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using the n-back task.

Depression, attribution style and self-esteem in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia patients: is there a link?

How relevant are exercise capacity measures for evaluating treatment effects in chronic fatigue syndrome? Results from a prospective, multidisciplinary outcome study.

To "lump" or to "split" the functional somatic syndromes: can infectious and emotional risk factors differentiate between the onset of chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome?

The incidence of fibromyalgia and its associated comorbidities: a population-based retrospective cohort study based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision codes.

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