REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases
This article is part of the Research TopicNeuroinflammation, Neurodegeneration, and Auditory-Vestibular DisordersView all 22 articles
Assessment of Symptoms in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Comparative Study of Existing Scales
Provisionally accepted
- 1Graduate School of Heilongjiang Chinese Medicine University, Harbin, China
- 2Graduate School, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
- 3First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
- 4Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multifaceted disorder characterized by persistent fatigue, post-exertional malaise (PEM), cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbance, pain, psychological distress, orthostatic intolerance, and impaired multidimensional health status and functioning. In the absence of reliable biomarkers, standardized symptom assessment is essential for accurate diagnosis and comparability across studies. This narrative literature review synthesized studies identified through PubMed and Web of Science up to June 2024, covering assessment instruments across major ME/CFS symptom domains. Tools were evaluated for their psychometric validity, clinical applicability, and key limitations. Overall, existing scales demonstrate acceptable reliability but vary in sensitivity and disease specificity. Harmonized, multidimensional, and digitally or objectively validated measures are needed to improve diagnostic precision, longitudinal monitoring, and clinical translation in ME/CFS.
Keywords: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, AssessmentScales, Symptom Assessment, Fatigue, Clinical instruments
Received: 25 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lu, Sun, Li, Qu, Liu, Guo, Feng and Tiansong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chuwen Feng, fcw19920703@126.com
Yang Tiansong, yangtiansong2006@163.com
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