Prevalence and Incidence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Wichita, Kansas

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Abstract
CHRONIC FATIGUE syndrome (CFS) is a complex medical and public health problem. Population-based descriptive epidemiologic prevalence and incidence data are critical to accurately estimate the burden of this illness for public health officials, health maintenance organizations, and other insurance providers who must allocate resources. Such data are also important to help practicing physicians put CFS in a realistic context when examining and caring for patients. Yet, accurately describing the prevalence of CFS has challenged the scientific community for more than a decade because of difficulties in achieving uniform case ascertainment by interview or simple laboratory tests. The current research case definition, based on international expert consensus in 1994, requires debilitating fatigue for at least 6 months, accompanying characteristic symptoms, and a thorough clinical and psychological examination to exclude known causes of fatigue.1