DIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

The absence of laboratory tests and clear criteria to identify homogen eous (sub)groups in patients presenting with unexplained fatigue, and to assess clinical status and disability in these patients, calls for further assessment methods. In the present study, a multi-dimensional approach to the assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is evalua ted. Two-hundred and ninety-eight patients with CFS completed a set of postal questionnaires that assessed the behavioural, emotional, socia l, and cognitive aspects of CFS. By means of statistical analyses nine relatively independent dimensions of CFS were identified along which CFS-assessment and CFS-research can be directed. These dimensions were named: psychological well-being, functional impairment in daily life, sleep disturbances, avoidance of physical activity, neuropsychologica l impairment, causal attributions related to the complaints, social fu nctioning, self-efficacy expectations, and subjective experience of th e personal situation. A description of the study sample on these dimen sions is presented.