What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Severe chronic fatigue disorder often following infection.
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: characterized by physical symptoms and demonstrable structural or physiological changes in which emotional factors are believed to play a major etiologic role.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: nervous breakdown (not in technical use).
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or a subtype of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Introduction

Types of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

Broader types of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

• Possibly autoimmune diseases
• more types...»

How many people get Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Prevalance of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: 500,000 Americans (CDC/NIAID)
Prevalance Rate of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: approx 1 in 544 or 0.18% or 500,000 people in USA [about data]
Prevalance of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: CDC estimates, however, that as many as 500,000 people in the United States have a CFS-like condition. (Source: excerpt from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

Who gets Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Patient Profile for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Usually young adults (20-40)

Gender Profile for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: More women than men.

Gender Profile for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: CFS is diagnosed two to four times more often in women than in men, possibly because of biological, psychological, and social influences. (Source: excerpt from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

How serious is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Complications of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see complications of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

What causes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: CFS seems to involve interactions between the immune and central nervous systems, interactions about which scientists know relatively little. Scientists' concerted efforts to penetrate the complex nervous system and immune system events in CFS have created a challenging new concept of the pathology of this and other illnesses. (Source: excerpt from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
Risk factors for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see risk factors for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

What are the symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Complications of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see complications of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Research for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: see research for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Organs Affected by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

Organs and body systems related to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome include:

• Body

Name and Aliases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Main name of condition: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Class of Condition for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: autoimmune possibly

CFS, myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, postviral fatigue syndrome, chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), CFIDS, yuppie flu, neurasthenia, Akureyri disease, benign myalgic encephalomyelitis, epidemic myalgic encephalomyelitis, epidemic neuromyasthenia, Iceland disease, Raphe nucleus encephalopathy, Royal free disease, Tapanui flu

Chronic fatigue syndromes, Conversion disorder, Psychophysiological disorder, Psychosomatic disorders, Somatization disorders, Somatoform disorder, Functional disorders, Briquet's syndrome, CFS Source - Diseases Database

Mucoviscidosis, Cystic fibrosis, Cardiac neurosis, Chronic asthenia, Da Costa's syndrome, Effort syndrome, Neurocirculatory asthenia, Primary neurasthenia
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)