Tag: yuppie flu

Myths dispelled about chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome, despite being commonly known as “yuppie flu,” is not restricted to any social class or occupational group, according to a report by the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Psychiatrists, and General Practitioners.

The report, written at the request of the chief medical officer, Kenneth Calman, aims to dispel some of the popular myths surrounding this controversial condition. It says that there is no convincing evidence that common viral infections cause the chronic fatigue syndrome, although 10% of those with Epstein-Barr virus develop the syndrome.

You can read the rest of this article here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2359076/pdf/bmj00562-0011.pdf

 

Source: Mulube M. Myths dispelled about chronic fatigue syndrome. BMJ. 1996 Oct 5;313(7061):839. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2359076/

 

Taking exception to chronic fatigue syndrome prevalence findings by Price, et al.

Comment on: Estimating the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome and associated symptoms in the community. [Public Health Rep. 1992]

 

We would like to address some serious methodological issues in the article, “Estimating the Prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Associated Symptoms in the Community,” by Rumi K. Price, et al., published in the September-October issue of Public Health Reports. We believe that because of the deficiencies in the design of this research, the authors’ conclusions are totally illogical and invalid.

In this article, the authors conclude that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), as defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Diagnostic Criteria, might be “quite rare” in the general population, as only 1 of 13,538 individuals studied was deemed to have CFS. The official CDC Diagnostic Criteria, however, were not utilized to diagnose cases of CFS. Instead, the researchers reviewed interview questionnaire data collected between 1981 and 1984 for a purpose unrelated to diagnosing CFS. In fact, the CDC Diagnostic Criteria were not formulated and published until 1988.

You can read the rest of this comment as well as the rely from the authors here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403345/pdf/pubhealthrep00069-0137c.pdf

 

Source: Robin R, Lipkin DM, Hume GW. Taking exception to chronic fatigue syndrome prevalence findings by Price, et al. Public Health Rep. 1993 Jan-Feb;108(1):135-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403345/