Joseph Cotler

Objectives The Institute of Medicine (IOM 2015. Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Redefining an Illness. Washington: The National Academies Press) suggested new criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), which requires an endorsement of either neurocognitive impairment or orthostatic intoleran...

Replications and the sharing of data with other researchers have become an essential part of the scientific process, and it is an aspect of the social sciences that has grown exponentially over the last few decades and is now required for most federally funded studies. Unfortunately, there are few guidelines or narratives for unexpected complicatio...

Background: About 10% of individuals who contract infectious mononucleosis (IM) have symptoms 6 months later that meet criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Our study for the first time examined whether it is possible to predict who will develop ME/CFS following IM. Methods: We have reported on a prospectively...

Background Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) involves severe fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, and cognitive impairment, leading to functional difficulties; prior studies have not evaluated risk factors with behavioral and immune data collected prior to developing ME/CFS.. Up to 5% of university students develop infectious mono...

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic disease with the hallmark symptom of post-exertional malaise. Evidence for physiological causes is converging, however, currently no diagnostic test or biomarker is available. People with ME/CFS experience stigmatization, including the perception that the disease is psychosoma...

Introduction: Our objective was to determine which symptoms among long-hauler COVID-19 patients change over time, and how their symptoms compare to another chronic illness group. Methods: 278 long-haulers completed two symptom questionnaires at one time point, with one recounting experiences during the first two weeks of their illness, an average...

We followed college students before, during, and after infectious mononucleosis (IM) for the development of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We used network analysis to study relationships between pre-illness cytokine data amongst three groups of participants: those 30 who went on to develop ME/CFS following IM (and met...

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) are debilitating conditions found globally. Yet, most studies on these illnesses include patients from the United States (U.S) and the United Kingdom (U.K.). The current study compares impairment levels of 124 patients living in Japan with 210 patients from the U.S. All patients are...

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) affect approximately 1 million Americans ( Jason , Richman, Rademaker, Jordan, Plioplys, Taylor, et al., 1999a ); while some individuals believe that CFS and ME refer to the same illness, others characterize ME as a more severe, neurological disorder that is discrete from CFS (Twisk,...

Post-exertional malaise, or a variation of this term, is a key symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome, as this symptom is mentioned in almost all myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome case definitions. Until now there has not been a comprehensive questionnaire to assess post-exertional malaise. To rectify...

Post-exertional malaise, or a variation of this term, is a key symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome, as this symptom is mentioned in almost all myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome case definitions. Until now there has not been a comprehensive questionnaire to assess post-exertional malaise. To rectify...

Objective: We sought to identify the general health of college students. Participants: A total of 4402 university freshmen and sophomores were recruited to report their general health through an online questionnaire. Methods: Responses from the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire were analyzed. We then conducted latent class analyses to evaluate 54 diff...

Background: Past research has found high rates of hyperventilation in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), but hyperventilation can be influenced by psychological factors. Clinical respiratory rates have been less frequently assessed. Aim: This study aimed to identify the predictors of rapid respiratory rates...

This study adapted a chronic illness stigma scale and explored its psychometric properties. The main purposes were to confirm the factor structure of the instrument with this population and address the previous factor intercorrelation discrepancies. Five hundred and fifty-four individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome c...

Background: Most pediatric prevalence studies of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have been based upon data from tertiary care centers, a process known for systematic biases such as excluding youth of lower socioeconomic status and those less likely to have access to health care. In addition, most pediatric ME/CFS epide...

The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has severely impacted the population worldwide with a great mortality rate. The current article reviews the literature on short- and long-term health consequences of prior epidemics and infections to assess potential health complications that may be...

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) includes symptoms such as post-exertional malaise, unrefreshing sleep, and cognitive impairments. Several studies suggest these patients have an increased risk of suicidal ideation and early mortality, although few have published in this area. This study explores risk factors for suicide a...

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are controversial chronic illnesses with a myriad of debilitating symptoms. This study aimed to explore physician referrals to psychiatrists or psychologists, perceived stigma, and estrangement for patients with ME and CFS. Findings indicate that patients who have been referred to ps...

Considerable controversy has existed with efforts to assess post-exertional malaise (PEM), which is one of the defining features of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). While a number of self-report questionnaires have been developed to assess this symptom, none have been comprehensive, and a recent federal government...

Objectives: To develop a scale for the severity of mononucleosis. Study design: One to 5 percent of college students develop infectious mononucleosis annually, and about 10% meet criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) 6 months following infectious mononucleosis. We developed a severity of mononucleosis scale based on a review of the literat...

Since there is no objective measure to determine if someone has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), diagnoses and medical care ultimately amount to a physician’s assessment of the symptoms presented by the patient. The current study examines the interrater reliability between a physician’s rating of patient symptom categories during a physical examinat...

The current study sought to understand access to care in an international sample of ME and CFS patients: - Availability of specialist medical care for ME and CFS - Patient satisfaction with medical care received from specialists and non-specialists - Barriers related to accessing specialist care

Since there is no known biomarker or objective measure to determine if someone has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), diagnoses and medical care ultimately amount to a physician’s assessment of the symptoms presented by the patient. In the current study, statistical analyses were used to assess the interrater reliability between a physician's diagnost...

Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is a key symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Currently, five PEM-items from the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ) were recommended as a first step in measuring this symptom for patients with ME and CFS by the National Institutes of Health/Centers for Disease Control and Preven...

A key aim of homelessness services is not only to ensure that homeless people attain a secure home, but that this is a pathway to wider social inclusion. However, relatively little is known about the psychological elements that are essential for homeless people to engage with these pathways, nor whether these elements combine in ways that are predi...