IGNORE NUMBERS — WE NEED THE REAL CAUSES OF CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME!

While this article is completely wrong in suggesting crippling fatigue is rare, since even basic criteria find millions in just the United States alone, it is useful in challenging simplistic causes and pointing to the need to look for broader fresh new causes.

While some have CFS from viral causes this has been a dead end in many except perhaps Gulf War Vets. It is amazing how meager is the effective treatments and the lack of solid cause research that leads to useful care.

This is one reason in 2009 I will dedicate myself 40 plus hours a week to share our success and learn the current top 1-2,000 publications on this and fibromyalgia, so we can share our positions.

I hope in late 2009 or 2010 to publish, WHEN YOU ARE FED UP WITH YOUR DOCTOR: REAL SOLUTIONS FOR CHRONIC FATIGUE AND FIBROMYALGIA.

Occup Med (Lond). 2005 Jan;55(1):13-9. Epidemiology of chronic fatigue syndrome

Ranjith G.

BACKGROUND: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a controversial disorder with different case definitions, aetiological models and proposed treatments. An epidemiological approach is likely to bring some clarity to the field. AIM: The aim of this article is to review the literature on the epidemiology of fatigue, chronic fatigue and CFS. METHOD: A literature search was conducted using the databases Medline and Pubmed as well as the reference lists of recent reviews to identify the relevant studies. The aim was not to do a systematic review but to review the key studies in the area to highlight the methodological issues. RESULTS: The review is organized according to the following areas: the prevalence of fatigue and chronic fatigue, the prevalence and incidence of CFS, epidemiological associations such as gender, social class and psychiatric co-morbidity and CFS in special groups such as those recovering from a viral infection, specific occupational groups and Gulf War veterans. CONCLUSION: While fatigue as a symptom is very common, CFS is relatively rare. Many of the epidemiological associations seen in specialist clinics are not found in community samples. It is unlikely that one specific causal factor can explain CFS. Future studies should go beyond estimating the prevalence to testing more complex aetiological models.