Factor Analysis of the DePaul Symptom
Questionnaire: Identifying Core Domains
Leonard A. Jason, Madison Sunnquist, Abigail Brown, Jacob Furst, Marjoe Cid, Jillianna Farietta, Bobby Kot, Craig Bloomer, Laura Nicholson, Yolonda
Williams, Rachel Jantke, Julia L. Newton and Elin Bolle Strand
DePaul University, USA
Newcastle University, UK
Oslo University Hospital, Norway
Received date: 22 August 2015; Accepted date:
12 Sep 2015; Published date: 17 Sep 2015.
Citation: Jason LA, Sunnquist M, Brown A,
Furst J, Cid M, et al. (2015) Factor Analysis of the
DePaul Symptom Questionnaire: Identifying Core
Domains. J Neurol Neurobiol 1(4): doi
http://dx.doi.
org/10.16966/2379-7150.114
Copyright: © 2015 Jason LA, et al. This is an
open-access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
*
Corresponding author: Leonard A. Jason, Center for Community Research, DePaul
University, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, USA, Tel: 773-325-2018; Fax:
773.325.4923; E-mail:
ljason@depaul.edu
Abstract
The present study attempted to identify critical symptom domains of individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue
syndrome (CFS). Using patient and control samples collected in the United States, Great Britain, and Norway, exploratory factor analysis (EFA)
was used to establish the underlying factor structure of ME and CFS symptoms. The EFA suggested a four-factor solution: post-exertional
malaise, cognitive dysfunction, sleep difficulties, and a combined factor consisting of neuroendocrine, autonomic, and immune dysfunction
symptoms. The use of empirical methods could help better understand the fundamental symptom domains of this illness.
Keywords: Chronic fatigue syndrome; Myalgic encephalomyelitis; DePaul symptom questionnaire; Case definition
