Prior, Kirsty N, Bond, Malcolm J · Psychology & health · 2014 · DOI
This study tested a questionnaire that measures how people think about their illness, including how much they believe they are ill, how worried they are about their health, and their overall mood. Researchers gave this questionnaire to 675 people—some healthy and some with chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, chronic pain, or ME/CFS—and checked it again after 3 and 12 months. The questionnaire performed reasonably well and remained fairly stable over time.
Understanding how ME/CFS patients perceive and think about their illness is important for both clinical care and research. This study includes ME/CFS patients in a diverse sample and validates a questionnaire that could be used to better understand psychological factors in chronic illness, which may help identify those at risk for prolonged illness or poor outcomes.
This study does not prove that these psychological dimensions cause ME/CFS or worsen outcomes—it only shows that certain illness beliefs remain relatively stable over time. The research does not establish whether changing these beliefs through treatment would improve health outcomes. Additionally, the greater variability seen over 12 months suggests these measures may not be as reliable for long-term prediction.
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 →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →