Health Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Int J Behav Med. 2013 Jun;20(2):229-38. doi: 10.1007/s12529-012-9265-y.
Few studies focus on cross-cultural differences in Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
This study aimed to (1) compare fatigue severity and impairment, somatic complaints, psychological distress, and quality of life (QoL) in a population of Portuguese and Dutch patients; (2) explore the differential contribution of behavioral and cognitive determinants of fatigue severity; and (3) investigate the relation between fatigue severity and somatic complaints on one hand and QoL on the other in both populations.
Eighty-five female patients from Portugal (Mean age = 47.54) and 167 female CFS patients from The Netherlands (Mean age = 44.93) participated in the study. All participants were surveyed for demographic and clinical characteristics, fatigue severity, somatic symptoms, psychological distress, (physical and psychological) QoL, physical activity, behavior regulation patterns, and illness representations.
Cross-cultural differences were found in relation to working status, duration of fatigue symptoms, psychological distress, somatic complaints, and psychological QoL. Although behavioral characteristics and illness representations were significantly associated with fatigue severity in both Portuguese and Dutch patients, there were important differences in the determinants of CFS. Moreover, higher levels of fatigue and severity of other somatic complaints were related to poor QoL.
These findings show cross-cultural similarities and differences in clinical characteristics and psychological determinants of CFS that are important in view of diagnosis and treatment.
很少有研究关注慢性疲劳综合征 (CFS) 的跨文化差异。
本研究旨在：(1) 比较葡萄牙和荷兰人群中疲劳严重程度和障碍、躯体症状、心理困扰和生活质量 (QoL)；(2) 探索疲劳严重程度的行为和认知决定因素的差异贡献；(3) 调查两种人群中疲劳严重程度与躯体症状之间以及与 QoL 之间的关系。
85 名来自葡萄牙的女性患者（平均年龄=47.54 岁）和 167 名来自荷兰的 CFS 患者（平均年龄=44.93 岁）参加了这项研究。所有参与者都接受了人口统计学和临床特征、疲劳严重程度、躯体症状、心理困扰、（身体和心理）QoL、身体活动、行为调节模式和疾病认知的调查。
在工作状态、疲劳症状持续时间、心理困扰、躯体症状和心理 QoL 方面，发现了跨文化差异。尽管行为特征和疾病认知在葡萄牙和荷兰患者的疲劳严重程度中均有显著关联，但 CFS 的决定因素存在重要差异。此外，更高的疲劳水平和其他躯体症状的严重程度与较差的 QoL 有关。
这些发现表明，在 CFS 的临床特征和心理决定因素方面存在跨文化的相似性和差异，这在诊断和治疗方面很重要。
