Examining case definition criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Jason, Leonard A, Sunnquist, Madison, Brown, Abigail et al.·Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior·2014
This study looked at different ways doctors define ME/CFS by comparing symptoms in 236 patients and 86 healthy people. The researchers found that simply looking for the presence of symptoms isn't enough—the frequency and severity matter greatly. Three key symptoms stood out as the best way to identify ME/CFS patients: extreme fatigue, difficulty focusing on multiple things at once, and feeling heavy or exhausted after exercise.