Reliability and validity of Short Form 36 Version 2 to measure health perceptions in a sub-group of individuals with fatigue

Purpose. To determine the validity and reliability of Short Form 36 Version 2 (SF36v2) in sub-groups of individuals with fatigue.Method. Thirty subjects participated in this study, including n  ==  16 subjects who met case definition criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and n  ==  14 non-disabled sedentary matched control subjects. SF36v2 and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) were administered before two maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPETs) administered 24 h apart and an open-ended recovery questionnaire was administered 7 days after CPET challenge. The main outcome measures were self-reported time to recover to pre-challenge functional and symptom status, frequency of post-exertional symptoms and SF36v2 sub-scale scores.Results. Individuals with CFS demonstrated significantly lower SF36v2 and MFI-20 sub-scale scores prior to CPET. Between-group differences remained significant post-CPET, however, there were no significant group by test interaction effects. Subjects with CFS rep...