Tag: Maastricht

Development of the chronic fatigue syndrome in severely fatigued employees: predictors of outcome in the Maastricht cohort study

Abstract:

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors of the development of the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), the persistence or recurrence of fatigue, or recovery from fatigue in a large sample of fatigued employees.

DESIGN: Analyses were based on the Maastricht cohort study (MCS), a prospective population based cohort study among more than 12 000 employees. Multiple regression models were used to identify predictors of CFS-like caseness (meeting research criteria for CFS), non-CFS fatigue caseness, or no fatigue caseness.

SETTING: The working population in the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS: 1143 employees with medically unexplained fatigue were followed up prospectively for 44 months.

MAIN RESULTS: At 44 month follow up, 8% of the employees were CFS-like cases (none of who reported to have received a CFS diagnosis), 40% were non-CFS fatigue cases, and 52% were no longer fatigue cases. Factors that predicted CFS-like caseness compared with non-CFS fatigue caseness were high age, exhaustion, female sex, low education, and visits to the general practitioner. Factors that predicted CFS-like caseness compared with no fatigue caseness were fatigue, exhaustion, low education, visits to the GP and occupational physician, and bad self rated health. Factors that predicted non-CFS fatigue caseness compared with no fatigue caseness were fatigue, low self perceived activity, exhaustion, anxious mood, and bad self rated health.

CONCLUSIONS: Unexplained fatigue among employees in some instances is a precursor of the development of CFS. The prognostic role of self rated health suggests that prevention and treatment of chronic fatigue should be aimed at changing the perception of health or illness. Less clear is the role of health care seeking or receiving a CFS diagnosis.

 

Source: Huibers MJ, Kant IJ, Knottnerus JA, Bleijenberg G, Swaen GM, Kasl SV. Development of the chronic fatigue syndrome in severely fatigued employees: predictors of outcome in the Maastricht cohort study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2004 Oct;58(10):877-82. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1763327/

 

Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome-like caseness in the working population: results from the Maastricht cohort study

Abstract:

AIM: To determine the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)-like caseness in the working population.

METHODS: Using data from the prospective Maastricht Cohort Study on Fatigue at Work, the prevalence and incidence of CFS-like cases (employees meeting research criteria for CFS) were determined among 5499 employees who responded to the follow up assessment 3 years and 8 months after baseline.

RESULTS: Of the 5499 employees, 199 (3.6%) were identified as CFS-like cases. By deleting possible CFS-like cases at baseline, the annual incidence of CFS-like caseness was estimated to be 85 per 10 000. Twenty employees (0.36%) reported having been diagnosed with CFS by a physician.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CFS-like cases (3.6%) was considerably higher than the prevalence of CFS reported in previous studies (0.006-3%). These findings suggest that the CFS-like caseness may be underdetected in the working population and perhaps in other populations as well.

 

Source: Huibers MJ, Kant IJ, Swaen GM, Kasl SV. Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome-like caseness in the working population: results from the Maastricht cohort study. Occup Environ Med. 2004 May;61(5):464-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1740780/ (Full article)