Research abstract:

Background:  Since the publication of

• the CFS case definition [Fukuda K, Straus SE, Hickie I, Sharpe MC, Dobbins JG, Komaroff A.
• The chronic fatigue  syndrome: a comprehensive approach to its definition and study. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:953-959],

there have been a number of other criteria proposed including

• the Canadian Consensus Criteria [Carruthers BM, Jain AK, De Meirleir KL, Peterson DL, Klimas NG, Lerner AM, Bested AC, Flor-Henry P, Joshi P, Peter Powles AC, Sherkey JA, van de Sande MI.
• Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: clinical working case definition, diagnostic and treatments protocols.  J Chronic Fatigue Syndr. 2003;11:7-115] and
• Myalgic  Encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria [Carruthers BM, van de Sande MI, De Meirleir KL, Klimas NG, Broderick G, Mitchell T, Staines D, Powels AC, Speight N, Vallings R, Bateman L, Baumgarten-Austrheim B, Bell DS, Carlo-Stella N, Chia J, Darragh A, Jo D, Lewis D, Light AR, Marshall-Gradisbik S, Mena I, Mikovits JA, Miwa K, Murovska M, Pall ML, Stevens S.
• Myalgic encephalomyelitis: international consensus criteria. J Internal Med. 2011;270(4):327-338; Jason LA, Evans M, Brown M, Porter N, Brown A, Hunnell J, Anderson V, Lerch A.
• Fatigue scales and chronic fatigue syndrome: issues of sensitivity and specificity. Disabil Stud Q. 2011;31:PMCID:  PMC3181109; Jason LA, Jessen T, Porter N, Boulton A, Njoku MG, Friedberg F.
• Examining types of fatigue among individuals with ME/CFS.
  Disabil Stud Q. 2009;29:4-11].

Purpose
The current study compared these domains that were developed through consensus methods to one obtained through more empirical approaches using factor analysis.

Methods: using data mining, we compared and contrasted fundamental features of consensus-based criteria versus empirical latent factors. In general, these approaches found the domain of fatigue/post-exertional malaise as best differentiating patients from controls.

Results
Findings indicated that the Fukuda et al. criteria had the worst sensitivity and specificity.

Conclusions
These outcomes might help both theorists and researchers better determine which fundamental domains to be used for the case definition.

Comparing and contrasting consensus versus empirical domains, by Leonard A. Jason, Bobby Kot, Madison Sunnquist, Abigail Brown, Jordan Reed, Jacob Furst, Julia L. Newton, Elin Bolle Strand & Suzanne D. Vernon in Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior [Published online: 26 Mar 2015]
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