Both chronic fatigue (CF) connected to a chronic or serious disease, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) form a serious problem in our Western society. It causes a lot of suffering for patients and may lead to disability to work. Doctors are frequently confronted with these patients, but it is unknown how many of these patients are suffering without help-seeking.
Most research has been done in CFS, and in specialised CFS clinics. Much less is known about other types of chronic fatigue, connected with a serious disabling disease, or with a psychiatric condition. There is hardly any knowledge about the prevalence and characteristics of these types of chronic fatigue and especially CFS, and the course of CFS in the general population. If we would know more about fatigue and chronic fatigue in the general population then, for example, the development of prevention programs would become nearer.
You can read the rest of this article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC269992/
Comment on:
Functional status of persons with chronic fatigue syndrome in the Wichita, Kansas, population. [Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2003]
A population-based study of the clinical course of chronic fatigue syndrome. [Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2003]
Source: Bleijenberg G. Chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome in the general population. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2003 Oct 6;1:52. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC269992/ (Full article)