J Psychosom Res 2000 Jan;48(1):59-68

Symptom patterns in long-duration chronic fatigue syndrome.

Friedberg F, Dechene L, McKenzie MJ 2nd, Fontanetta R

Department of Mathematics, Fitchburg State College, MA, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate symptom patterns in patients with
chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) who were ill for 10 or more years. METHODS: This
cross-sectional self-report study compared patient groups with long-duration
(median = 18 years; n = 258) and short-duration (median = 3 years; n = 28) CFS
to a group of healthy significant others (n = 79) on symptomatic,
neurocognitive, and psychological variables. Data were gathered from a 574-item
postal questionnaire. 

RESULTS: A principal-components analysis of CFS symptom
data yielded a three-factor solution: cognitive problems; flu-like symptoms; and
neurologic symptoms. Compared with the short-duration CFS group, the
long-duration group had significantly higher CFS symptom severity scores (p <
0.04), largely attributable to increased cognitive difficulties. A subgroup
comparison of subjects ill for < 3 years versus those ill 4-7 years suggested
that denial coping strategies were more likely in those participants with the
shorter illness duration. Significant differences between both CFS groups and
healthy controls were found in a number of comorbid disorders. Participants with
CFS most often endorsed immune/viral abnormalities and persistent stress as
important perceived causes of their illness. 

CONCLUSION: Participants with
long-duration CFS reported a large number of specific cognitive difficulties
that were greater in severity than those reported by participants with
short-duration CFS. The pattern of comorbid disorders in the CFS groups was
consistent with hypersensitivity and viral reactivation hypotheses.

PMID: 10750631, UI: 20212669