Prevalence and treatment of Chronic FatigueSyndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and co-morbidsevere health anxiety

Abstract

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a debilitatingcondition that affects 0.2---0.4% of the population. Health focussed anxiety is common acrossmedical conditions, and may be relevant in CFS/ME. This study sought to identify the preva-lence and impact of health anxiety (HA) in CFS/ME and evaluate the effectiveness of CognitiveBehavioural Therapy for HA in CFS/ME. Cross-sectional questionnaire methods and case-seriesdesign were used to achieve study aims. Analysis indicated that 41.9% of the CFS/ME clinicsample experienced threshold levels of health anxiety, which was associated with elevatedsymptom severity across several dimensions. Stepwise multiple regression indicated physicalfunctioning and depression accounted for 23.8% of variance in fatigue; depression, fatigue andHA, accounted for 32.9% of variance in physical functioning. Large effect sizes and clinicallysignificant changes were generated in the treatment study. HA is common in CFS/ME and likelyto exacerbate fatigue and physical functioning. This study identifies HA as an important targetfor treatment, trial findings should be further replicated on a larger scale.