Issues and problems in the conduct of epidemiologic research on chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome: assessing symptoms and activity level

Current approaches to the diagnosis and assessment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) rely primarily on scales that measure only the occurrence of various symptoms related to CFS. Such approaches do not provide information on either the severity of symptoms or on fluctuations in symptom severity and activity level that occur over time. As a result, these measures do not reflect the complexities and the interrelations among symptoms. By obscuring the fluctuating nature of CFS and its high variability, current assessment procedures may prevent health care professionals from understanding the complexities of this disease. The present study provides two CFS case studies to illustrate the advantages of using self-reporting rating scales in combination with a device used to measure the frequency and intensity of activity. The implications of this assessment system, which captures the symptom dynamics and variability involved in CFS, are discussed.

Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome-related symptoms among nurses

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an illness that is characterized by debilitating fatigue and a group of other related symptoms. Few epidemiological studies have been conducted, and none have focused on a nursing population. The present study is the first to assess the prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-related symptoms in a sample of nurses. Demographic characteristics, symptoms, and possible prevalence rates are presented and discussed. When using both narrow and more inclusive criteria to define this symptom complex, higher rates of this disorder were found than in previous epidemiological studies. The implications of these findings are discussed.