title: Functional level of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome reporting use of alternative vs. traditional treatments.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), but whether it is viewed as more or less effective than traditional medicine is unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate patients' level of functioning based on the types of treatments they report using (i.e., traditional-only, CAM-only, or a combination of both).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were recruited from physician referrals and media sources (newspaper, support groups), and 97 participants were retained for this analysis. Based on self-report, individuals were divided into three groups: using CAM-only (N=27), traditional medicine-only (N=22), or a combination of both treatments (N=58).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Social functioning was significant (p<.01), with post-hoc analyses indicating significantly better social functioning for individuals taking CAM-only in comparison to patients using traditional-only or a combination of traditional and CAM treatments. Significantly fewer participants (p<.01) using CAM-only had a current psychiatric diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest using CAM-only treatments in CFS is associated with higher social functioning and fewer current psychiatric diagnoses. The results support the need for research to fully evaluate how CAM may affect functioning among individuals with CFS.
authors.affiliation: DePaul University.
authors.forename: Shelby
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.affiliation: DePaul University.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jantke
authors.affiliation: DePaul University.
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: DePaul University.
authors.forename: Leonard A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Jason
keywords: CAM; Myalgic encephalomyelitis; alternative medicine; chronic fatigue syndrome