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.

Citations

Jo Danielsa, Hannah Parker, Paul Martin Salkovskis. Prevalence and treatment of Chronic FatigueSyndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and co-morbidsevere health anxiety. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology (2019).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2019.11.003

URI: https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/orka/title/prevalence-and-treatment-of-chronic-fatiguesyndrome-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-and-co-morbidsevere-health-anxiety/