Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness–their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME

Abstract

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is an illness in which physiological and psychological factors are believed to interact to cause and maintain CFS/ME in an individual predisposed to it. The various symptoms and impairments associated with CFS/ME have a large impact on quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to identify the extent to which the core symptoms and impairments associated with CFS/ME relate to depression in women with CFS/ME, and to discover whether these relationships were mediated by illness intrusiveness. CFS/ME was found to be a highly intrusive illness, intruding into more life domains and to a greater degree than other illnesses. The effects of both symptoms and impairment on depression were, in part, mediated by illness intrusiveness. Although symptoms severity and impairment had both direct and indirect effects on depression, illness intrusiveness was the strongest predictor of depression.

Keywords:

• CFS
• ME
• illness intrusiveness
• depression

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the ME Association and Action for ME for allowing us to advertise for research volunteers in their publications. Thank you also to Professor Leslie J Findley who gave advice on one of the questionnaires used in the study. We would particularly like to express our thanks to Dr Charles Shepherd, Honorary Medical Advisor of the ME Association, who gave welcome advice and suggestions to us in the initial stages of this research. Our deepest thanks of course go to those women who agreed to participate in this study–their time and effort is greatly appreciated.