The absence of laboratory tests and clear criteria to identify homogeneous (sub)groups
in patients presenting with unexplained fatigue, and to assess clinical status and
disability in these patients, calls for further assessment methods. In the present
study, a multi-dimensional approach to the assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome
(CFS) is evaluated. Two-hundred and ninety-eight patients with CFS completed a set
of postal questionnaires that assessed the behavioural, emotional, social, and cognitive
aspects of CFS. By means of statistical analyses nine relatively independent dimensions
of CFS were identified along which CFS-assessment and CFS-research can be directed.
These dimensions were named: psychological well-being, functional impairment in daily
life, sleep disturbances, avoidance of physical activity, neuropsychological impairment,
causal attributions related to the complaints, social functioning, self-efficacy expectations,
and subjective experience of the personal situation. A description of the study sample
on these dimensions is presented.