Tag: Hong Kong

A preliminary epidemiological study and discussion on traditional Chinese medicine pathogenesis of chronic fatigue syndrome in Hong Kong

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose is to conduct an epidemiological study of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and its syndrome types and symptoms of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) among adults (20-50 years old) in Hong Kong, and to discuss the TCM pathogenesis.

METHODS: DESIGN: Cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

MEASURES: Demographic data, CDC (1994) CFS diagnostic criteria, Trudie Chalder fatigue scale, and China national standard for TCM syndrome types criteria.

SUBJECTS: Twenty to fifty years old adults by convenient sampling.

RESULTS: One thousand and thirteen subjects were successfully interviewed. Five hundred and eighty-five subjects (57.8%) had different levels of fatigue. Sixty-five subjects (6.4%) met CFS diagnostic criteria. In terms of TCM syndrome types, blood stasis due to qi deficiency had the highest prevalence (35.7%) among CFS. In the 54 symptoms investigated in total, the first eight symptoms in order of appearing rates were soreness of loins and weakness in knees, poor spirit, lassitude, pain, insomnia, forgetting, vessels blood stasis, vertigo and dazzle. The mostly appeared tongue figures were pale and corpulent or pale dim tongue proper, white and white greasy tongue coating, and the mostly appeared pulse figure was sunken-thin.

CONCLUSION: The point prevalence of CFS among adults of 20 to 50 years old was found to be 6.4%. The most prevalent TCM syndrome type was blood stasis due to qi deficiency. The TCM pathogenesis of CFS was deficiency of origin, mainly deficiency of qi and kidney, with excess of superficiality.

 

Source: Yiu YM, Qiu MY. A preliminary epidemiological study and discussion on traditional Chinese medicine pathogenesis of chronic fatigue syndrome in Hong Kong. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2005 Sep;3(5):359-62. [Article in Chinese] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16159567 View full article in Chinese here: http://www.jcimjournal.com/articles/publishArticles/pdf/200632947810378.pdf

 

Psychiatric morbidity and illness experience of primary care patients with chronic fatigue in Hong Kong

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: The authors’ goal was to examine the prevalence and experience of psychiatric morbidity among primary care patients with chronic fatigue in Hong Kong.

METHOD: One hundred adult patients with medically unexplained fatigue for 6 or more months were assessed with the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue, psychopathological rating scales, and an enhanced version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R.

RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of DSM-III-R depressive and anxiety disorders was 54%. Current depressive and anxiety disorders were identified in 28 patients, who exhibited more psychopathology and functional impairment than other patients. Thirty-three patients had somatoform pain disorder, and 30 had undifferentiated somatoform disorder, but most of them could also be diagnosed as having shenjing shuairuo (weakness of nerves) and, to a lesser extent, ICD-10 neurasthenia. Chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosed according to the 1988 Centers for Disease Control criteria was rare (3%) and atypical. Generally, patients mentioned fatigue if asked, but pains (36%), insomnia (20%), and worries (13%) were the most troublesome symptoms. Most patients attributed illness onset to psychosocial sources.

CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric morbidity was common among primary care patients with chronic fatigue. Subthreshold psychiatric morbidity was very common and was more validly represented by the disease construct of shenjing shuairuo or neurasthenia than somatoform disorder.

 

Source: Lee S, Yu H, Wing Y, Chan C, Lee AM, Lee DT, Chen C, Lin K, Weiss MG. Psychiatric morbidity and illness experience of primary care patients with chronic fatigue in Hong Kong. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Mar;157(3):380-4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10698813