Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
(Health Day)
MONDAY, Dec. 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Chronic fatigue syndrome affects more Americans than many people realize. Initial national estimates put the number at 3.3 million, according to new government data.
The symptoms are clearly “not a rare disease” but are partially fueled by patients currently suffering from long-term COVID-19 infections, the report’s authors said. Dr. Elizabeth Ungerdirector of the Division of Chronic Viral Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Associated Press.
Experts said the number could actually be higher, as they believe only a small percentage of people are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Dr. Daniel CrowDirector of the Center for Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research at the University of Michigan.
“There are no drugs approved for this diagnosis in the United States, so it has never been a common clinical diagnosis,” he said. AP. “There are no treatment guidelines for it.”
CDC officials said the tally likely includes some long-term coronavirus patients suffering from long-term fatigue, making the situation even more uncertain.
long coronavirus It is defined as a chronic health problem that persists for weeks, months, or years after contracting COVID-19. Symptoms vary, but patients often report the same symptoms seen in people with chronic fatigue syndrome.
“I think it’s the same disease.” Dr. Brayden Yelmansaid an expert at the Bateman Horn Center in Salt Lake City. AP. However, he added that for a long time, new coronaviruses have been easier to accept by doctors and diagnosed more quickly.
Chronic fatigue syndrome, on the other hand, usually involves at least six months of severe fatigue that is not helped by rest. Patients also report pain, brain fog, and other symptoms that can be worse after exercise, work, or other activities. There is no test or scan that can definitively diagnose this condition, and there is no cure.
Research suggests this is the body’s long-term overreaction to infection or other shocks to the immune system.
new investigationIt was published on December 8th. NCHS data summaryis based on a survey of 57,000 U.S. adults in 2021 and 2022. Whether everyone has ever been told by a doctor or other health care professional that they have chronic fatigue syndrome, medically known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, and whether they currently have symptoms. I asked. Approximately 1.3% answered yes to both questions.
That equates to about 3.3 million U.S. adults, CDC officials said.
Women and white people were more likely to have this condition than men and other races and ethnicities.
Still, the findings cast doubt on the perception that chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease of wealthy white women.
The gap between women and men was smaller than previous research had suggested, and there was little difference between whites and blacks. The survey also found that poor people were more likely to say they were infected than rich people.
These long-standing misconceptions suggest that diagnosed and treated patients “traditionally tend to have a little more access to medical care, and are perhaps a little more believed when they say they’re tired, and continue to be tired.” It may come down to the fact that there is. Don’t go to work,” Yelman said.
One limitation of the study’s findings is that the report relies on patients’ memories and does not verify diagnoses through medical records.
sauce: NCHS data summaryDecember 8, 2023. Associated Press
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