ArticlePsychosomatic medicine
Nonimprovement in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Relation to Activity Patterns, Uplifts and Hassles, and Autonomic Dysfunction.
Article in Psychosomatic medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02948556 (ME/CFS), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
ME/CFS: Activity Patterns and Autonomic Dysfunction
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Fatigue severity and avoidance among individuals with chronic disease: A meta-analysis.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2022Pooled it
- Molecular hydrogen as a treatment for ME/CFS: a mini-review of clinical evidence and mechanistic rationale.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Functional neurological disorder, physical activity and exercise: What we know and what we can learn from comorbid disorders.Epilepsy & behavior reports · 2024Review
- Uplifts and hassles are related to worsening in chronic fatigue syndrome: a prospective study.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Article
- Uplifts and hassles are related to worsening in chronic fatigue syndrome A prospective study.Research square · 2023Article
- Sex differences in post-exercise fatigue and function in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo test a model of nonimprovement in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) using self-report activity patterns (e.g., "push-crash"), uplifts and hassles, and a biological measure of cardiac autonomic function. Activity pattern impacts on symptoms and objective measures of autonomic and physical activity were also examined.
methodsThis prospective study in CFS collected all data remotely, including 6 months of weekly web diaries that recorded symptom ratings, activity patterns, and hassles and uplifts. In addition, 6 months of weekly heart monitoring and 3 months of daily waking actigraphy data were collected. Improvement or nonimprovement status was assessed using semistructured interviews at the 6-month follow-up.
resultsA total of 148 individuals (87.2% female) were enrolled, and 12.2% were lost to follow-up. Participants reporting nonimprovement ( n = 92), as compared with improvement ( n = 38), showed greater autonomic dysfunction (lower heart rate variability, group difference = 5.93 [SE = 2.73] milliseconds; p = .032) and lower mean intensity of behavioral uplifts (group difference = 0.14 [SE = 0.16]; p = .043), but no significant differences in any activity pattern, including push-crash, limiting activity, and healthy pacing.
conclusionsThis study provided evidence for linking patient-reported nonimprovement to a biological variable indexing autonomic dysfunction and a behavioral measure indicating a deficit in psychological uplifts. These findings suggest a possible marker of illness trajectory that could potentially advance the biomedical underpinnings of CFS.Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02948556.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.