A pilot study of cognitive behavioral stress management effects on stress, quality of life, and symptoms in persons with chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract

OBJECTIVE The present pilot study was designed to test the effects of a 12 week group-based Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) intervention on stress, quality of life, and symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We hypothesized that participants randomized to CBSM would report improvements in perceived stress, mood, quality of life, and CFS symptomatology from pre-to-post intervention compared to those receiving a psychoeducational (PE) seminar control. METHOD We recruited 69 persons with a bonafide diagnosis of CFS and randomized 44 to CBSM and 25 to PE. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS),Profile of Mood States (POMS), Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), and a CDC-based CFS symptom checklist pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS Repeated Measures ANOVA revealed a significant group × time interaction for PSS, POMS-total mood disturbance, and QOLIscores, such that participants in CBSM evidenced greater improvements than those in PE. Participants in CBSM also reported decreases in severity of CFS symptoms vs. those in PE. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that CBSM is beneficial for managing distress, improving quality of life, and alleviating CFS symptom severity.

Do evidence based interventions for chronic fatigue syndrome improve sleep? A systematic review and narrative synthesis

“…There were four RCTs [11,23,24,25], one pilot study with randomisation [26], one non-randomised trial [27], and one case study [28]. The remaining study was an uncontrolled follow up of an included RCT [29].…”

“…Full quality ratings for each of the included studies are shown in web appendix 1 (link). Two studies evaluated interventions derived from a CBT approach [11,26]. One study evaluated formal individual CBT sessions over 24 weeks [11], and one piloted a 12 week cognitive behavioural stress management group [26].…”

“…A pilot study compared a 12 week cognitive behavioural stress management programme with a half day seminar on the same approach [26]. The case study did not include a control condition [28].…”

“…The mean age of participants across studies was 39.6 (SD= 9.1), and the mean proportion of females across studies was 77.7% (SD=10.4). For six of the studies, interventions were provided on an outpatient basis requiring mobility to attend sessions [11,23,24,26,27,29]. Two studies evaluated interventions delivered by home visit and telephone contact [25,28] and in one of these studies 11% of participants were non ambulatory and would have had difficulty attending outpatient appointments [25].…”

“…Five of the studies had no sleep related participant exclusion criteria [11,25,26,27,28]. One study offered treatment to patients who had had 'symptomatic insomnia' prior to participation, and included participants only if that insomnia had been treated successfully and they still met the criteria for CFS [23].…”