COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC-FATIGUE-SYNDROME, ACUTE INFECTIVE ILLNESS OR DEPRESSION

Background Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) report neurops ychological symptoms as a characteristic feature. We sought to assess cognitive performance in patients with CFS, and compare cognitive perf ormance and subjective workload experience of these patients with that of two disease comparison groups (non-melanchonic depression and acut e infection) and healthy controls. Method A computerised performance b attery employed to assess cognitive functioning included tests of cont inuous attention, response speed, performance accuracy and memory. Sev erity of mood disturbance and subjective fatigue were assessed by ques tionnaire. Results All patient groups demonstrated increased errors an d slower reaction times, and gave higher workload ratings than healthy controls. Patients with CFS and non-melancholic depression had more s evere deficits than patients with acute infection. All patient groups reported more severe mood disturbance and fatigue than healthy control s, but patients with CFS and those with acute infection reported less severe mood disturbance than patients with depression. Conclusions As all patients demonstrated similar deficits in attention and response s peed, it is possible that common pathophysiological processes are invo lved. The differences in severity of mood disturbance, however, sugges t that the pathophysiological processes in patients with CFS and acute infection are not simply secondary to depressed mood.