Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a real
and often misunderstood disorder, characterized by variable
but often severe flu-like fatigue, exertion intolerance,
headaches, dizziness, cognitive dysfunction, and mild to
moderate symptoms of infection or allergy such as sore or
scratchy throat, tender lymph nodes, low grade fever, joint
and muscle aches. Symptoms are worsened by physical or
emotional "stress" and certain types of activity, especially
aerobic exercise. CFS typically has a distinct period of
onset, striking men and women, young to middle aged, often
during periods of additional stress (such as starting
college, going abroad on a mission, or attending graduate
school).
The prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
in this country is probably between 1-10 cases per 1000 in
the population. For example, researchers at DePaul
University estimate that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome affects
four out of every 1000 people in the United States, with 90%
of these cases largely undiagnosed and untreated. Most
research suggests that CFS is three times more common in
women than men (5.2 women out of 1,000), a rate that is
similar to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple
sclerosis. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is four times as common
as HIV infection and poses a higher lifetime risk of lung
cancer in women. There may be more than a million cases in
the United States. Based on a population of 1,514,417 adults
(over the age of 18) in the state of Utah, this amounts to
6,000 cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 90% of which may be
undiagnosed and not properly treated.
Those who become ill are often rendered
completely disabled from school or work, in the prime of
active life, and may remain sick for years. At this point,
very little has been proven regarding the exact cause,
natural history, and treatment of the illness. A large and
growing body of published scientific evidence exists
supporting dysfunction in the immune system, the central
nervous system, aspects of the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic
nervous system, and a genetic risk of tendency to develop
the disorder. The case definition of Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome was initially published in 1988, revised in 1994,
and is recognized by knowledgeable physicians, the Center
for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), and the Surgeon General of the United States. Good
research regarding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is ongoing at
major universities in the United States and around the
world.
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