Table 4.
Symptoms (Higher score indicates more impairment)
| DePaul Sample | Newcastle Sample | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFS | ME | Sig. | CFS | ME | Sig. | |
| M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | |||
| Fatigue | 78.8 (17.0) | 80.0 (15.1) | 75.0 (14.6) | 80.4 (15.7) | ||
| Post-exertional malaise | ||||||
| Dead, heavy feeling after starting to exercise | 60.5 (31.6) | 73.2 (26.4) | ** | 62.0 (29.4) | 73.0 (24.5) | |
| Next-day soreness after non-strenuous activities | 68.6 (22.2) | 78.8 (18.4) | ** | 61.1 (30.5) | 75.2 (21.2) | * |
| Mentally tired after slightest effort | 55.9 (27.3) | 68.2 (21.8) | ** | 63.0 (29.0) | 68.8 (23.1) | |
| Minimum exercise makes you tired | 66.6 (27.0) | 81.7 (18.4) | *** | 60.6 (28.0) | 75.0 (20.0) | * |
| Physically drained / sick after mild activity | 65.2 (27.5) | 76.7 (20.2) | ** | 56.7 (34.0) | 69.3 (22.2) | |
| Sleep | ||||||
| Unrefreshing sleep | 73.5 (24.3) | 81.8 (18.1) | 79.3 (16.9) | 84.3 (16.6) | ||
| Need to nap during each day | 53.2 (31.2) | 51.1 (30.4) | 46.2 (35.3) | 54.1 (32.5) | ||
| Problems falling asleep | 56.3 (34.6) | 62.0 (30.1) | 51.4 (29.6) | 52.1 (34.5) | ||
| Problems staying asleep | 56.3 (30.6) | 65.9 (29.6) | 43.5 (27.5) | 53.0 (34.3) | ||
| Waking up early in the morning | 43.4 (30.1) | 52.6 (34.4) | 38.9 (27.9) | 48.4 (34.1) | ||
| Sleeping all day / staying awake all night | 15.2 (26.9) | 17.5 (27.3) | 10.6 (18.3) | 20.4 (27.0) | ||
| Pain | ||||||
| Muscle pain | 50.4 (27.4) | 68.6 (23.3) | *** | 64.8 (21.9) | 75.9 (24.1) | * |
| Pain in multiple joints | 35.8 (34.0) | 59.7 (29.5) | *** | 57.4 (32.9) | 71.1 (25.8) | * |
| Eye pain | 25.0 (27.1) | 38.0 (28.7) | ** | 32.4 (28.9) | 43.3 (26.5) | |
| Chest pain | 18.9 (23.3) | 30.1 (24.8) | ** | 21.2 (24.7) | 30.5 (25.4) | |
| Bloating | 30.7 (28.3) | 53.6 (24.3) | *** | 26.4 (27.0) | 51.3 (30.7) | *** |
| Abdomen / stomach pain | 24.1 (22.7) | 47.2 (23.8) | *** | 21.0 (25.7) | 49.4 (30.7) | *** |
| Headaches | 41.7 (24.7) | 53.9 (24.4) | ** | 48.6 (25.1) | 65.5 (22.4) | ** |
| Neurocognitive | ||||||
| Muscle twitches | 22.4 (20.4) | 37.6 (26.9) | *** | 27.4 (30.2) | 42.7 (30.1) | * |
| Muscle weakness | 53.9 (29.6) | 66.6 (24.3) | ** | 55.3 (28.3) | 71.1 (22.6) | ** |
| Sensitivity to noise | 54.9 (29.8) | 66.3 (25.7) | ** | 37.5 (33.5) | 61.6 (29.0) | ** |
| Sensitivity to bright lights | 46.1 (32.1) | 65.2 (24.0) | *** | 41.3 (30.2) | 57.3 (28.4) | * |
| Problems remembering things | 60.8 (23.8) | 68.9 (20.4) | * | 61.5 (24.2) | 75.2 (20.3) | ** |
| Difficulty paying attention for long periods of time | 64.6 (28.2) | 77.4 (21.5) | ** | 70.0 (21.3) | 77.8 (20.8) | |
| Difficulty expressing thoughts | 54.9 (25.5) | 67.1 (21.3) | ** | 55.8 (27.7) | 67.2 (23.9) | |
| Difficulty understanding things | 37.3 (22.7) | 54.1 (21.2) | *** | 51.9 (28.2) | 57.9 (27.2) | |
| Can only focus on one thing at a time | 60.6 (31.5) | 74.9 (22.8) | *** | 63.0 (24.9) | 68.4 (25.7) | |
| Unable to focus vision / attention | 38.6 (26.2) | 56.8 (22.4) | *** | 49.0 (29.8) | 53.4 (24.8) | |
| Loss of depth perception | 14.6 (25.3) | 31.6 (32.8) | *** | 17.9 (32.6) | 35.0 (32.3) | * |
| Slowness of thought | 51.1 (24.3) | 63.9 (22.0) | *** | 53.4 (26.6) | 62.3 (24.9) | |
| Absent-mindedness | 52.2 (29.1) | 65.2 (23.6) | ** | 52.4 (28.3) | 68.5 (25.6) | * |
| Autonomic | ||||||
| Bladder problems | 19.1 (26.4) | 38.1 (34.2) | *** | 15.5 (22.6) | 35.7 (33.8) | ** |
| Irritable bowel problems | 29.6 (28.9) | 56.4 (28.5) | *** | 31.7 (29.6) | 57.0 (34.0) | ** |
| Nausea | 22.1 (20.3) | 38.3 (24.1) | *** | 24.5 (19.5) | 43.3 (26.2) | ** |
| Feeling unsteady on feet | 28.8 (20.5) | 50.2 (26.5) | *** | 34.6 (24.6) | 52.6 (28.0) | ** |
| Shortness of breath | 29.3 (26.1) | 44.0 (25.2) | *** | 21.5 (19.3) | 42.8 (27.8) | *** |
| Dizziness / fainting | 29.5 (24.5) | 44.5 (24.0) | *** | 38.5 (25.5) | 48.1 (30.1) | |
| Irregular heart beats | 20.2 (22.9) | 38.3 (27.0) | *** | 24.5 (27.3) | 40.0 (32.4) | * |
| Neuroendocrine | ||||||
| Losing / gaining weight without trying | 31.6 (35.0) | 42.6 (33.2) | * | 38.5 (36.0) | 51.3 (34.1) | |
| No appetite | 15.9 (18.4) | 26.3 (25.6) | ** | 15.0 (21.9) | 34.5 (32.0) | ** |
| Sweating hands | 8.6 (19.1) | 14.5 (23.1) | 9.5 (18.1) | 28.1 (32.6) | ** | |
| Night sweats | 26.6 (29.2) | 40.0 (30.9) | ** | 26.0 (28.4) | 38.4 (30.2) | |
| Cold limbs | 44.8 (30.5) | 56.9 (29.7) | ** | 36.5 (29.3) | 58.6 (33.0) | ** |
| Chills / shivers | 25.0 (25.3) | 41.4 (27.9) | *** | 22.6 (23.7) | 42.5 (30.7) | ** |
| Feeling hot / cold for no reason | 40.9 (28.3) | 58.3 (27.5) | *** | 44.0 (27.7) | 59.9 (28.2) | * |
| Feeling like you have a high temperature | 18.9 (26.4) | 40.4 (29.4) | *** | 27.6 (35.0) | 47.2 (29.9) | * |
| Feeling like you have a low temperature | 18.9 (26.7) | 34.0 (29.5) | *** | 10.9 (22.5) | 29.6 (30.9) | ** |
| Alcohol intolerance | 35.2 (39.3) | 58.3 (37.8) | *** | 27.5 (32.1) | 56.9 (35.3) | *** |
| Immune | ||||||
| Sore throat | 29.8 (25.1) | 39.6 (22.5) | ** | 24.0 (22.5) | 50.2 (28.3) | *** |
| Tender lymph nodes | 29.4 (26.0) | 50.6 (28.1) | *** | 20.0 (21.0) | 46.7 (29.3) | *** |
| Fever | 8.1 (15.1) | 18.9 (21.8) | *** | 11.5 (20.4) | 27.2 (26.8) | * |
| Flu-like symptoms | 36.6 (22.7) | 63.9 (23.5) | *** | 36.5 (30.0) | 62.5 (21.8) | *** |
| Sensitivity to smells/foods/medications/chemicals | 36.0 (36.0) | 66.8 (30.7) | *** | 22.6 (29.6) | 54.7 (35.5) | *** |
*
p < 0.05;
**
p < 0.01;
***
p < 0.001