Italian researchers aimed to provide a clinical and psychometric assessment (i.e. of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and personality traits) of CFS patients with and without depressive features.
Higher levels of somatic complaints were found in CFS patients than in healthy subjects, whereas augmented depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were observed only in the depressed CFS subgroup. A selective impairment in the capacity to identify feelings and emotions was observed, with non-depressed CFS patients showing an intermediate score between depressed CFS and healthy controls.
A higher fatigue severity in depressed CFS patients, with respect to non-depressed ones, was observed. In conclusion, comorbid depression in CFS significantly increased the level of psychophysical distress and the severity of alexithymic traits (i.e. inability to express feelings with words). These findings suggest an urgent need to address and treat depressive disorders in the clinical care of CFS cases, to improve social functioning and quality of life in such patients.
