Activity logs as a measure of daily activity among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Background: Self-report data collected through interviews has been one of the primary ways of assessing symptoms of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). An alternative way to collect data involves activity logs, which involves patients writing down the pattern, intensity, and qualitative nature of activity over several days. Aims: We examined the associations between activity, evaluation of activity and symptoms. Methods: Activity log data over a 2-day period of time were used in the present study using a sample of patients with diagnosed CFS. Results: Findings indicated that the percent of time spent feeling fatigued was positively associated with a higher percent of time in pain and doing activities that were fatiguing. However, time spent in meaningful activities was associated with less fatigue. Conclusions: These findings and others suggest that activity logs can provide investigators and clinicians with valuable sources of data for understanding patterns of behavior and activity among patients with CFS.