Attentional bias towards health-threat information in chronic fatigue syndrome

ObjectiveTo investigate whether individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) show an attentional bias towards health-threat information.MethodsAttentional bias (AB) was assessed in individuals with CFS and healthy controls using a visual probe task which presented health-threat and neutral words and pictures for 500 ms. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess CFS symptoms, depression, anxiety, and social desirability.ResultsCompared to a healthy control group, the CFS group showed an enhanced AB towards heath-threat stimuli relative to neutral stimuli. The AB was not influenced by the type of stimulus (pictures vs. words).ConclusionThe finding of an AB towards health-threat information in individuals with CFS is supportive of models of CFS which underlie cognitive behavior therapy.