illness behavior – Page 2 – American ME and CFS Society

Current studies on the neurobiology of chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

Cytokines are soluble mediators which are released by activated immune cells during infection and inflammation. The possibility that fatigue is mediated by the effects of cytokines on the central nervous system is supported by several converging lines of evidence: 1) infusions of cytokines to immunocompromised patients induce flu-like symptoms including fatigue and malaise; 2) peripheral and central injection of cytokines to laboratory rodents induce sickness behaviour; 3) symptoms of sickness behaviour occurring during experimental infections can be abrogated by administration of anti-cytokine treatments; 4) although many pitfalls in the detection of cytokines still exist, patients afflicted with the chronic fatigue syndrome have been found in some studies to display instances of excessive production of cytokines.

Experimental studies have confirmed that cytokines are interpreted by the brain as internal signals for sickness. Furthermore, there is evidence that sickness is a motivation which reorganizes the organism’s priorities in face of this particular threat which is represented by infectious pathogens. The elucidation of the mechanisms that are involved in these effects and in particular, the role of the cytokines which are produced in the brain in response to peripheral immune stimuli and to stressors, should give new insight on the way sickness and recovery processes are organized in the brain.

Source: Dantzer R. Current studies on the neurobiology of chronic fatigue syndrome. Encephale. 1994 Nov;20 Spec No 3:597-602. [Article in French] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7843056

Illness behaviour of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

The study examines the illness behaviour of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ), the twenty-eight version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to forty patients with a diagnosis of CFS. The results revealed that CFS patients in comparison with general practice patients, scored significantly higher on the IBQ sub-scales of General Hypochonriasis, t(188) = 5.2, p < 0.001 and Disease Conviction, t(188) = 13.28, p < 0.001 but lower on the Psychological/Somatic sub-scale, t(188) = -5.88, p < 0.001. The CFS and psychiatric patients did not differ significantly on the general hypochondriasis sub-scale. Results of the GHQ-28 revealed 66.7% of the CFS patients scored above the cut-off for psychiatric morbidity. In comparison to a previous study of CFS patients [1], the current findings indicate a significantly higher score on general hypochondriasis. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Source: Schweitzer R, Robertson DL, Kelly B, Whiting J. Illness behaviour of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jan;38(1):41-9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8126689

Chronic fatigue syndrome and the treatment process

Abstract:

Fatigue is a common complaint in general practice and is often associated with psychiatric and psychosocial problems and demoralization. Although the Centers for Disease Control definition of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) excludes pre-existing psychiatric illness, common psychosocial problems short of a clinical disorder (such as irritability, difficulty in thinking, inability to concentrate, depression and sleep disturbance) overlap with the criteria for CFS.

Psychological states can affect the course of CFS or become confused in the patient’s and doctor’s mind with the course of infection. The core dilemma in practice is how aggressively to pursue a possible basis for CFS when it persists in the absence of an identifiable external cause. Possibilities for exploration are numerous and potentially expensive. In practice, the persistence of doctors depends on the patient’s illness behaviour, on financial and organizational factors, and on the culture of medical care and practice styles.

It is essential to differentiate the appropriate management of CFS from scientific study where intensive investigation may be warranted. In practice doctors should proceed in a manner that conveys concern, supports function, and avoids dysfunctional illness behaviour and inadvertent legitimization and reinforcement of disability.

Source: Mechanic D. Chronic fatigue syndrome and the treatment process. Ciba Found Symp. 1993;173:318-27; discussion 327-41. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8491105

Somatization, illness attribution and the sociocultural psychiatry of chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

In addition to epidemiological and neurobiological perspectives on the relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and psychiatric disorders there has been increasing interest in the role of cognitive-behavioural, psychological, psychodynamic and social factors in the psychiatric aspects of this syndrome. These factors may be important in the initiation and/or maintenance of CFS and play important roles in the misdiagnosis of primary psychopathology as CFS. They may be important targets for intervention and treatment.

This paper examines the relevance of the following issues for better understanding the relationship between CFS and the results of psychiatric studies: (1) the concepts of somatization and abnormal illness behaviour; (2) the role of patients’ illness attributions; (3) psychological and psychodynamic constructs such as depressive vulnerability occurring in individuals dependent upon achievement for the maintenance of self-esteem and euthymic mood, perfectionism, and helplessness; (4) the role of personality characteristics and styles; (5) the potential iatrogenic role of the health care system in producing disability in individuals with a diagnosis of CFS; (6) the role of the media and other sociocultural forces in the patient’s choice of the CFS label; and (7) the impact of the CFS label on the patient. The importance of differentiating between initiating and maintaining or perpetuating factors is emphasized.

Source: Abbey SE. Somatization, illness attribution and the sociocultural psychiatry of chronic fatigue syndrome. Ciba Found Symp. 1993;173:238-52; discussion 252-61. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8491101

Neurasthenia and chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of culture in the making of a diagnosis

Abstract:

Chronic fatigue syndrome is an increasingly popular diagnosis consisting of multiple psychiatric and somatic symptoms. It bears a striking resemblance to the nineteenth-century diagnosis of . Both disorders arose during periods characterized by a preoccupation with commerce and material success and major changes in the role of women. They illustrate the role of culture in the development of a new diagnosis that emphasizes a “medical” rather than “psychiatric” etiology. The authors argue that chronic fatigue syndrome will meet the same fate as neurasthenia–a decline in social value as it is demonstrated that the majority of its sufferers are experiencing primary psychiatric disorders or psychophysiological reactions and that the disorder is often a culturally sanctioned form of illness behavior.

Comment in:

Taking chronic fatigue syndrome seriously. [Am J Psychiatry. 1992]

Source: Abbey SE, Garfinkel PE. Neurasthenia and chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of culture in the making of a diagnosis. Am J Psychiatry. 1991 Dec;148(12):1638-46. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1957925

Psychiatric perspectives: an overview

Abstract:

This chapter reviews the evidence concerning the importance of psychological and social factors in the aetiology and pathogenesis of chronic fatigue syndrome. The diagnosis is often offered to doctors by patients; and we consider attribution, stigma, collusion between doctor and patient, and abnormal illness behaviour in this context. We then give a brief description of a model for common mental disorders, and show how chronic fatigue syndrome relates to this model. It emerges that there are special vulnerability factors in these patients’ personalities before the viral illness, but the disorder is seen as being released by the viral illness. By the time the disorder becomes established the original causal nexus is seen as no longer so important, and the disorder can be seen as a form of abnormal illness behaviour maintained by special factors. The implications for treatment are then considered.

Source: Woods TO, Goldberg DP. Psychiatric perspectives: an overview. r Med Bull. 1991 Oct;47(4):908-18. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1794090