This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (148)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Musculoskeletal Syndromes (Chronic Fatigue, Gulf War)  • Neurology  • Alert me on articles by topic

Leonard A. Jason, PhD; Judith A. Richman, PhD; Alfred W. Rademaker, PhD; Karen M. Jordan, PhD; Audrius V. Plioplys, MD; Renee R. Taylor, PhD; William McCready, PhD; Cheng-Fang Huang, MS; Sigita Plioplys, MD

Arch Intern Med. 1999;159:2129-2137.

Background  Most previous estimates of the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have derived largely from treated populations, and have been biased by differential access to health care treatment linked with sex, ethnic identification, and socioeconomic status.

Objective  To assess the point prevalence of CFS in an ethnically diverse random community sample.

Design and Participants  A sample of 28,673 adults in Chicago, Ill, was screened by telephone, and those with CFS-like symptoms were medically evaluated.

Main Outcome Measures and Analyses  Self-report questionnaires, psychiatric evaluations, and complete medical examinations with laboratory testing were used to diagnose patients with CFS. Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques were used to delineate the overall rate of CFS in this population, and its relative prevalence was subcategorized by sex, ethnic identification, age, and socioeconomic status.

Results  There was a 65.1% completion rate for the telephone interviews during the first phase of the study. Findings indicated that CFS occurs in about 0.42% (95% confidence interval, 0.29%-0.56%) of this random community-based sample. The highest levels of CFS were consistently found among women, minority groups, and persons with lower levels of education and occupational status.

Conclusions  Chronic fatigue syndrome is a common chronic health condition, especially for women, occurring across ethnic groups. Earlier findings suggesting that CFS is a syndrome primarily affecting white, middle-class patients were not supported by our findings.

From the Department of Psychology, DePaul University (Drs Jason and Taylor); Departments of Psychiatry (Dr Richman and S. Plioplys) and Psychology (Dr Jordan), University of Illinois at Chicago; Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Medical School (Dr Rademaker and Ms Huang); and Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center (Dr A. V. Plioplys), Chicago, Ill; and Public Opinion Laboratory, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb (Dr McCready).

RELATED ARTICLE

Archives of Internal Medicine Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Intern Med. 1999;159(18):2229-2230.
FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Male Gulf War Veterans and Civilians: A Further Test of the Single Syndrome Hypothesis
Ciccone et al.
J Health Psychol 2008;13:529-536.
ABSTRACT  

Etiology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Testing Popular Hypotheses Using a National Birth Cohort Study
Harvey et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2008;70:488-495.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Immunoassay with cytomegalovirus early antigens from gene products p52 and CM2 (UL44 and UL57) detects active infection in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
Beqaj et al.
J. Clin. Pathol. 2008;61:623-626.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Incidence, Prognosis, and Risk Factors for Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Adolescents: A Prospective Community Study
Rimes et al.
Pediatrics 2007;119:e603-e609.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Reduced levels of oestrogen receptor {beta} mRNA in Swedish patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
Grans et al.
J. Clin. Pathol. 2007;60:195-198.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Alexithymia in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Associations With Momentary, Recall, and Retrospective Measures of Somatic Complaints and Emotions
Friedberg and Quick
Psychosom. Med. 2007;69:54-60.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Early Adverse Experience and Risk for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Results From a Population-Based Study.
Heim et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2006;63:1258-1266.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Factors Influencing the Diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Solomon and Reeves
Arch Intern Med 2004;164:2241-2245.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pharmacotherapy of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Another Gallant Attempt
Straus
JAMA 2004;292:1234-1235.
FULL TEXT  

Chronic Fatigue and Sociodemographic Characteristics as Predictors of Psychiatric Disorders in a Community-based Sample
Taylor et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2003;65:896-901.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevalence and Incidence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Wichita, Kansas
Reyes et al.
Arch Intern Med 2003;163:1530-1536.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Comparing Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in a Community-Based Versus Tertiary Care Sample
Jason et al.
J Health Psychol 2003;8:459-464.
ABSTRACT  

Symptom Patterns Among Gulf War Registry Veterans
Hallman et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2003;93:624-630.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Variability In Diagnostic Criteria For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome May Result In Substantial Differences In Patterns Of Symptoms And Disability
Jason et al.
Eval Health Prof 2003;26:3-22.
ABSTRACT  

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Review
Afari and Buchwald
Am. J. Psychiatry 2003;160:221-236.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevalence of Symptoms and Symptom-based Conditions among Gulf War Veterans: Current Status of Research Findings
Barrett et al.
Epidemiol Rev 2002;24:218-227.
FULL TEXT  

Psychosocial Treatments for Multiple Unexplained Physical Symptoms: A Review of the Literature
Allen et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2002;64:939-950.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neurasthenia: prevalence, disability and health care characteristics in the Australian community
HICKIE et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2002;181:56-61.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prognosis of Chronic Fatigue in a Community-Based Sample
Taylor et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2002;64:319-327.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Caring for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
Straus
BMJ 2002;324:124-125.
FULL TEXT  

Chronic fatigue and anxiety/depression: a twin study
ROY-BYRNE et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2002;180:29-34.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Natelson
JAMA 2001;285:2557-2559.
FULL TEXT  

Fludrocortisone Acetate to Treat Neurally Mediated Hypotension in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Rowe et al.
JAMA 2001;285:52-59.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Results of Isoproterenol Tilt Table Testing in Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Poole et al.
Arch Intern Med 2000;160:3461-3468.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Sociodemographic Subtypes in A Community-Based Sample
Jason et al.
Eval Health Prof 2000;23:243-263.
ABSTRACT  

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in a Community-Based Sample of Persons With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Like Symptoms
Jason et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2000;62:655-663.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Tobacco Use and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Temporomandibular Disorder
Jay et al.
Arch Intern Med 2000;160:2398-2401.
FULL TEXT