A study, published on June 8, 2007 in the Population Health Metrics, found that six to 10 times more people have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome than what was previously believed.
The study was conducted by scientists at the CDC. The results of this study provides evidence that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a significant health problem affecting millions of Americans.
Out of the 19,000 Georgia residents surveyed for this study, over 2 1/2% of the residents (ages 18 – 59) met the clinical diagnosis for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. These numbers are 10 times higher than when residents of Wichita, Kansas were surveyed in the late 1990s and six times higher than the rate in Chicago.
The study included detailed telephone interviews and a one-day clinical exam for a group of residents.
Dr. William Reeves was the lead investigator on the CDC study said that, “the higher prevalence number doesnt mean that more Americans are getting chronic fatigue syndrome, it means that researchers are getting better at counting them. We dont think the number of Americans with CFS is dramatically increasing. What is increasing is our knowledge base about the illness. We know so much more about this illness than we did 10 or 15 years ago. This increased knowledge has led to better diagnostic and measurement tools for estimating the number of people who have CFS.”
The study also showed that almost half (48%) of the residents surveyed who have symptoms of CFS have another undiagnosed medical condition. Some of these conditions include anemia, thyroid disease, diabetes, heart disease and psychiatric illness.
To read the rest of the information on this study, you can click here.
Leave a Reply