Longitudinal Assessment of Neuropsychological Functioning, Psychiatric Status, Functional Disability and Employment Status in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The longitudinal course of subjective and objective neuropsychological functioning, psychological functioning, disability level, and employment status in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was examined. The relations among several key outcomes at follow-up, as well as the baseline characteristics that p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied neuropsychology 2001, Vol.8 (1), p.41-50
Main Authors: Tiersky, Lana A., DeLuca, John, Hill, Nancy, Dhar, Sunil K., Johnson, Susan K., Lange, Gudrun, Rappolt, Gabrielle, Natelson, Benjamin H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affect
Disabled Persons
Employment
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - complications
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - psychology
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Prognosis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The longitudinal course of subjective and objective neuropsychological functioning, psychological functioning, disability level, and employment status in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was examined. The relations among several key outcomes at follow-up, as well as the baseline characteristics that predict change (e.g., improvement), were also evaluated. The study sample consisted of 35 individuals who met the 1988 and 1994 CFS case definition criteria of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at intake. Participants were evaluated a mean of 41.9 (SEM = 1.7) months following their initial visit (range = 24-63 months). Results indicated that objective and subjective attention abilities, mood, level of fatigue, and disability improve over time in individuals with CFS. Moreover, improvements in these areas were found to be interrelated at follow-up. Finally, psychiatric status, age, and between-test duration were significant predictors of outcome. Overall, the prognosis for CFS appears to be poor, as the majority of participants remained functionally impaired over time and were unemployed at follow-up, despite the noted improvements.
ISSN:0908-4282
1532-4826
DOI:10.1207/S15324826AN0801_6