caa a22 4500 606179550 CHVBK 20210128100801.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150401xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s11136-014-0819-0 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s11136-014-0819-0 Matthees Alem P.O. Box 6483, 6892, East Perth, WA, Australia aut Assessment of recovery status in chronic fatigue syndrome using normative data [Elektronische Daten] [Alem Matthees] Introduction: Adamowicz et al. have reviewed criteria previously employed to define recovery in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). They suggested such criteria have generally lacked stringency and consistency between studies and recommended future research should require "normalization of symptoms and functioning”. Methods: Options regarding how "normalization of symptoms and functioning” might be operationalized for CFS cohorts are explored. Results: A diagnosis of CFS excludes many chronic disabling illnesses present in the general population, and CFS cohorts can almost exclusively consist of people of working age; therefore, it is suggested that thresholds for recovery should not be based on population samples which include a significant proportion of sick, disabled or elderly individuals. It is highlighted how a widely used measure in CFS research, the SF-36 physical function subscale, is not normally distributed. This is discussed in relation to how recovery was defined for a large intervention trial, the PACE trial, using a method that assumes a normal distribution. Summary data on population samples are also given, and alternative methods to assess recovery are proposed. Conclusions: The "normalization of symptoms and function” holds promise as a means of defining recovery from CFS at the current time. However, care is required regarding how such requirements are operationalized, otherwise recovery rates may be overstated, and perpetuate the confusion and controversy noted by Adamowicz et al. Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 2014 Chronic fatigue syndrome nationallicence CFS nationallicence Recovery nationallicence Operational definition nationallicence Normative data nationallicence Quality of Life Research Springer International Publishing 24/4(2015-04-01), 905-907 0962-9343 24:4<905 2015 24 11136 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0819-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0819-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Matthees Alem P.O. Box 6483, 6892, East Perth, WA, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Quality of Life Research Springer International Publishing 24/4(2015-04-01), 905-907 0962-9343 24:4<905 2015 24 11136