Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness – their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is an illness in which
physiological and psychological factors are believed to interact to cause and maintain
CFS/ME in an individual predisposed to it. The various symptoms and impairments
associated with CFS/ME have a large impact on quality of life. The purpose of the present
study was to identify the extent to which the core symptoms and impairments associated with
CFS/ME relate to depression in women with CFS/ME, and to discover whether these
relationships were mediated by illness intrusiveness. CFS/ME was found to be a highly
intrusive illness, intruding into more life domains and to a greater degree than other illnesses.
The effects of both symptoms and impairment on depression were, in part, mediated by
illness intrusiveness. Although symptoms severity and impairment had both direct and indirect
effects on depression, illness intrusiveness was the strongest predictor of depression.

Citation:
Dancey, C.P.; Friend, J. (2008) 'Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness – their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME' Psychology & Health, 23 (8) pp.983-999.