Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and HTA, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands.
Eur J Public Health. 2010 Jun;20(3):251-7. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckp113. Epub 2009 Aug 18.
Most knowledge on chronic fatigue (CF) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is based on clinical studies, not representative of the general population. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of fatigue in an adult general population and to identify associations with lifestyle factors.
Total 22,500 residents of Nijmegen were selected at random and interviewed by questionnaire. Data on 9062 respondents (43% response) were analysed, taken into account age, gender and concomitant disease. Subjects were classified into four groups: not fatigued (NF, reference group), short-term fatigue (SF, <6 months), chronic fatigue (CF, >or=6 months) and CFS-like fatigue (in accordance with the Center for Disease Control criteria for CFS, without clinical confirmation).
Our study population showed the following breakdown: NF 64.4% (95% CI 63.6-65.6%), SF 4.9% (95% CI 4.5-5.4%), CF 30.5% (95% CI 29.5-31.4%) and CFS-like fatigue 1.0% (95% CI 0.8-1.2%). Compared with the NF group, more of the CFS respondents were female [odds ratio (OR) = 1.9], obese (OR = 4.1), using analgesics (OR = 7.8), had a low alcohol intake (OR = 0.4), were eating less healthy food (OR = 0.5) and were physically less active (OR = 0.1). These associations largely applied to the SF and CF group. The fatigue could have been due to a concomitant disease in 34 and 55.5% of the SF and CF cases, respectively.
The prevalence of CF in the general population appears to be much higher than previously indicated. Even with strict criteria for CFS, it is estimated that approximately 1% of the adult population experiences this condition. Interestingly, a large part of this group remains unrecognized by the general practitioner. A striking similarity in lifestyle pattern between SF, CF and CFS calls for further research.
大多数关于慢性疲劳（CF）和慢性疲劳综合征（CFS）的知识都是基于临床研究，不能代表普通人群。本研究旨在评估成年人一般人群中疲劳的患病率，并确定与生活方式因素的关联。
在奈梅亨随机选择了 22500 名居民进行问卷调查。分析了 9062 名应答者（43%的应答率）的数据，考虑了年龄、性别和伴随疾病。将受试者分为四组：无疲劳（NF，参考组）、短期疲劳（SF，<6 个月）、慢性疲劳（CF，>或=6 个月）和类似 CFS 的疲劳（根据疾病控制中心的 CFS 标准，未经临床确认）。
我们的研究人群分布如下：NF 组占 64.4%（95%CI 63.6-65.6%），SF 组占 4.9%（95%CI 4.5-5.4%），CF 组占 30.5%（95%CI 29.5-31.4%），类似 CFS 的疲劳组占 1.0%（95%CI 0.8-1.2%）。与 NF 组相比，更多的 CFS 应答者为女性[比值比（OR）=1.9]、肥胖（OR=4.1）、使用镇痛药（OR=7.8）、低酒精摄入（OR=0.4）、饮食不健康（OR=0.5）和体力活动较少（OR=0.1）。这些关联在很大程度上适用于 SF 和 CF 组。SF 和 CF 组中分别有 34%和 55.5%的疲劳可能是由伴随疾病引起的。
一般人群中 CF 的患病率似乎远高于先前的报告。即使采用严格的 CFS 标准，估计也有大约 1%的成年人患有这种疾病。有趣的是，相当一部分人群未被全科医生识别。SF、CF 和 CFS 之间在生活方式模式上的惊人相似性表明需要进一步研究。
