medical diagnosis, which is dependent on the definition used, patients
may or may not have ME or CFS.
PTSD is quite common in the general population. PTSD can affect people
of all ages and does not discriminate based on sex or marital status.
Kessler et al found that 10.4% of women and 5% of men were found to
have PTSD at one time or another in their past. Rates of PTSD have
been found to range anywhere from 22% to 64% in patients with HIV.
Other findings suggest that a significant proportion of MS patients
experience PTSD-type reactions. PTSD may be the result of the
distinctive nature of stress reactions secondary to severe illness and
stigma.
According to the Veteran's Administration:=C2=A0The IES-R is a 22-item
self-report measure that assesses subjective distress caused by
traumatic events. It is a revised version of the older version, the
15-item IES (Horowitz, Wilner, & Alvarez, 1979). The IES-R contains 7
additional items related to the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD, which
were not included in the original IES. Items correspond directly to 14
of the 17 DSM-IV symptoms of PTSD. Respondents are asked to identify a
specific stressful life event and then indicate how much they were
distressed or bothered during the past seven days by each "difficulty"
listed. Items are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 ("not at
all") to 4 ("extremely"). The IES-R yields a total score (ranging from
0 to 88) and subscale scores can also be calculated for the Intrusion,
Avoidance, and Hyperarousal subscales. The authors recommend using
means instead of raw sums for each of these subscales scores to allow
comparison with scores from the Symptom Checklist 90 =E2=80=93 Revised
(SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994). In general, the IES-R (and IES) is not
used to diagnosis PTSD, however, cutoff scores for a preliminary
diagnosis of PTSD have been cited in the literature.
The scale can be found here:=C2=A0http://www.serene.me.uk/tests/ies-r.pdf
Psychosomatics.=C2=A02012 Jan 31. [Epub ahead of print]
The Comorbidity of Self-Reported Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Traumatic Symptoms.
Dansie EJ,=C2=A0Heppner P,=C2=A0Furberg H,=C2=A0Goldberg J,=C2=A0Buchwald D=
,=C2=A0Afari N.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of
Washington, Seattle, WA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Data from primary care and community samples suggest higher rates of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among individuals with chronic
fatigue syndrome (CFS).
OBJECTIVE:
This study investigated the co-occurrence of CFS, PTSD, and trauma
symptoms and assessed the contribution of familial factors to the
association of CFS with lifetime PTSD and current traumatic symptoms.
METHOD:
Data on lifetime CFS and PTSD, as measured by self-report of a
doctor's diagnosis of the disorder, and standardized questionnaire
data on traumatic symptoms, using the Impact of Events Scale (IES),
were obtained from 8544 female and male twins from the community-based
University of Washington Twin Registry.
RESULTS:
Lifetime prevalence of CFS was 2% and lifetime prevalence of PTSD was
4%. Participants who reported a history of PTSD were over eight times
more likely to report a history of CFS. Participants with scores =E2=89=A5 =
26
on the IES were over four times more likely to report CFS than those
who had scores =E2=89=A4 25. These associations were attenuated but remaine=
d
significant after adjusting for familial factors through within-twin
pair analyses.
CONCLUSION:
These results support similar findings that a lifetime diagnosis of
CFS is strongly associated with both lifetime PTSD and current
traumatic symptoms, although familial factors, such as shared genetic
and environmental contributions, played a limited role in the
relationship between CFS, PTSD, and traumatic symptoms. These findings
suggest that future research should investigate both the familial and
the unique environmental factors that may give rise to both CFS and
PTSD.
Published by Elsevier Inc.
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