Richman J A, Flaherty J A, Rospenda K M
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago 60612.
Am J Public Health. 1994 Feb;84(2):282-4. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.2.282.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disabling disorder that has been studied primarily in clinical settings. In the absence of an adequate epidemiological database, cultural stereotypes have influenced the characterization of chronic fatigue syndrome as "the yuppie flu," similar to the 19th century characterization of neurasthenia as a disease of the affluent. The limited epidemiological data available and the overall medical-sociological literature call this assumption into question. Only a community "true" prevalence study that is unbiased by help seeking and access to health care can provide an accurate assessment of the risk factors for and the public health ramifications of this disease.
慢性疲劳综合征是一种致残性疾病,主要在临床环境中进行研究。由于缺乏足够的流行病学数据库,文化刻板印象影响了对慢性疲劳综合征的描述,将其称为“雅皮士流感”,类似于19世纪将神经衰弱描述为富人的疾病。现有的有限流行病学数据以及整体医学社会学文献对这一假设提出了质疑。只有一项不受寻求帮助和获得医疗保健影响的社区“真实”患病率研究,才能准确评估这种疾病的风险因素及其对公共卫生的影响。