Prevalence and treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and co-morbid severe health anxiety

This study sought to identify the prevalence and impact of health anxiety (HA) in CFS/ME and evaluate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for HA in CFS/ME. Cross-sectional questionnaire methods and case-series design were used to achieve study aims. Analysis indicated that 41.9% of the CFS/ME clinic sample experienced threshold levels of health anxiety, which was associated with elevated symptom severity across several dimensions. Stepwise multiple regression indicated physical functioning and depression accounted for 23.8% of variance in fatigue; depression, fatigue and HA, accounted for 32.9% of variance in physical functioning. Large effect sizes and clinically significant changes were generated in the treatment study. HA is common in CFS/ME and likely to exacerbate fatigue and physical functioning. This study identifies HA as an important target for treatment, trial findings should be further replicated on a larger scale.ResumenEl Síndrome de Fatiga Crónica/Encefalomielitis Miálgica (SFC/EM) es una enfermedad que afecta al 0,2-0.4% de la población. La ansiedad por la salud (AS) es común en condiciones médicas y puede ser relevante en el SFC/EM. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar la prevalencia e impacto de la AS en el SFC/EM y evaluar la efectividad de la terapia cognitivo conductual para tratar la AS en el SFC/EM. Se utilizaron cuestionarios en base a un diseño transversal y de estudio de casos. El 41.9% de la muestra clínica de SFC/EM exp...
Source: International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research