Few studies have examined the effects of psy-chiatric disorders occurring over a long dura-tion among patients with chronic fatigue syn-drome (CFS). The role of premorbid and current psychiatric disorders in impairment was ex-plored with a sample of 113 participants with CFS. Subgroups were created based on past and current psychiatric status including those whose psychiatric history was premorbid and current, postmorbid and current, past but not current, and those with no lifetime diagnosis. Results from a one-way MANOVA revealed that patients with a premorbid and current psychiat-ric disorder reported significantly higher pain severity, more somatic symptoms, poorer sleep quality, and poorer quality of life than those with no psychiatric history. Levels of fatigue and physical functioning among patients with CFS were unrelated to the four subgroups in this study. Although those with a premorbid and current psychiatric disorder were differentiated from those with no psychiatric history on some markers of impairment, the sample as a whole had severe fatigue-related impairment, which is the cardinal symptom of CFS. Implications for research are discussed.
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