CONTEXT:<\/strong> Unexplained fatigue states are prevalent, with uncertain diagnostic boundaries.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n OBJECTIVE:<\/strong> Patients with fatigue-related illnesses were investigated by questionnaire and a novel semistructured interview to identify discriminatory features.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n METHODS:<\/strong> Cross-sectional samples of women from specialist practices with chronic fatigue syndrome (n = 20), postcancer fatigue (PCF; n = 20), or major depression (n = 16) were recruited. Additionally, two longitudinal samples were studied: women with fatigue associated with acute infection who subsequently developed postinfective fatigue syndrome (n = 20) or recovered uneventfully (n = 21), and women undergoing adjuvant therapy for breast cancer experiencing treatment-related fatigue who subsequently developed PCF (n = 16) or recovered uneventfully (n = 16). Patients completed self-report questionnaires, and trained interviewers applied the Semi-structured Clinical Interview for Neurasthenia. The receiver operating characteristics curves of the interview were measured against clinician-designated diagnoses. Cluster analyses were performed to empirically partition participants by symptom characteristics.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n RESULTS:<\/strong> The interview had good internal consistency (Cronbach \u03b1 “fatigue” = .83), and diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for chronic fatigue syndrome (100% and 83%) and major depression (100% and 72%), with reasonable parameters for PCF (72% and 58%). Empirical clustering by “fatigue” or “neurocognitive difficulties” items allocated most patients to one group, whereas “mood disturbance” items correctly classified patients with depression only.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n CONCLUSIONS:<\/strong> The Semi-structured Clinical Interview for Neurasthenia offers reliable diagnostic use in assessing fatigue-related conditions. The symptom domains of fatigue and neurocognitive difficulties are shared across medical and psychiatric boundaries, whereas symptoms of depression such as anhedonia are distinguishing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Characterization of Fatigue States in Medicine and Psychiatry by Structured Interview<\/a>, by BK Bennett in<\/span> Psychosom Med<\/em>. 2014 May 6. [Epub ahead of print]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Abstract CONTEXT: Unexplained fatigue states are prevalent, with uncertain diagnostic boundaries. OBJECTIVE: Patients with fatigue-related illnesses were investigated by questionnaire and a novel semistructured interview to identify discriminatory features. METHODS: Cross-sectional samples of women from specialist practices with chronic fatigue … Continue reading