The development of a short form of the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire.
Sunnquist, Madison, Lazarus, Savitri, Jason, Leonard A · Rehabilitation psychology · 2019 · DOI
Quick Summary
Researchers created a shorter version of a commonly used questionnaire that measures ME/CFS symptoms. Instead of 99 questions, the new version has only 14 questions that capture the most important symptoms. This shorter form works well at identifying people with ME/CFS and can be easier for patients to complete, especially those with fatigue and thinking difficulties.
Why It Matters
Many ME/CFS patients struggle to complete long questionnaires due to fatigue and cognitive difficulties, which can prevent them from accessing proper diagnosis and care. A shorter screening tool could enable more patients to participate in research and clinical assessment. This work directly addresses a real-world barrier to diagnosis and research participation for the ME/CFS community.
Observed Findings
A 14-item short form was derived from the original 99-item DSQ with high prevalence items among ME/CFS patients
The DSQ-SF effectively differentiated individuals with ME/CFS from healthy adult controls
The DSQ-SF demonstrated moderate discriminative ability between ME/CFS and multiple sclerosis patients
The short form reduces respondent burden while maintaining psychometric strength
Inferred Conclusions
The DSQ-SF is an effective brief screening tool for ME/CFS symptoms
Symptom assessment in ME/CFS can be accomplished efficiently with carefully selected items
The shorter format may improve accessibility for patients with limited energy and cognitive capacity
A 14-item instrument can maintain adequate discriminative validity compared to the full 99-item version
Remaining Questions
How does the DSQ-SF perform in longitudinal studies tracking symptom changes over time?
Are there important ME/CFS symptoms excluded from the 14-item form that affect clinical assessment or patient outcomes?
How does the DSQ-SF perform across different ME/CFS severity levels and disease subtypes?
What This Study Does Not Prove
This study does not prove that the shorter form captures all clinically important symptoms of ME/CFS—some less common manifestations may have been excluded. It also does not establish the questionnaire's ability to monitor symptom changes over time or predict treatment outcomes. The study demonstrates discrimination from controls but does not identify causes of ME/CFS or validate any particular symptom theory.