Mental health professionals have long been interested in the natural course of fatigue, wondering how often do complaints of fatigue progress to chronic fatigue. An article published online in Modern Medicine (11/13/08) examines this issue. The article reported on a study published in the November/December 2008 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. The researchers studied 642 patients in 147 primary care practices who were visiting their physician with a primary complaint of fatigue. Over the course of a year, researchers measured how patients’ fatigue progressed over time. The results were sobering: “26 percent had chronic fatigue; 17 percent had a fast recovery; 25 percent had a slow recovery; and 32 percent initially improved but then relapsed. Fatigue severity scores were greatest in the chronic fatigue group and lowest in the fast recovery group, with similar scores in the slow recovery and recurrent groups, the researchers report.” The researchers found relationships between “the severity of fatigue, impaired functioning, psychological symptoms and poor sleep.” The results of this study suggest that chronic fatigue is a significant problem for many patients.
The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that chronic fatigue is a significant problem for many patients.
Reference: Article
Sources: Reprinted with permission from Dr. Jeff's and Dr. Tanya's Blog at: http://drjeffanddrtanya.typepad.com
Dr. Jeffrey Speller
Dr. Tanya Korkosz
