Children and Adolescents with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Non-Specialist Setting: Beliefs, Functional Impairment and Psychiatric Disturbance

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 310 - 318
• Main Authors: Richards, Josephine, Turk, Jeremy, White, Sarah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2005
• Subjects: Activity level; Adolescents; Chronic fatigue syndrome; Emotional disorders; Functional impairment; Psychological functioning
• ISSN: 1018-8827

Background Adolescents with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) seen in specialist centers have substantial psychological & functional impairment. Beliefs about activity levels may be important in the development of CFS. Method The aim was to investigate psychological & functional impairment, & beliefs in children & adolescents with CFS recruited from non-specialist services. A total of 30 such individuals participated, & 30 young people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) formed the comparison group. Results Emotional symptoms & disorder were high in both groups. In all, 50% of those with CFS & 30% with IBD reached the threshold for emotional disorder according to the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) parent report, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. Participants with CFS scored statistically significantly higher on measures of functional impairment, including school non-attendance, compared to those with IBD. According to questionnaire responses, those with CFS were statistically significantly more likely to favor rest rather than exercise compared to those with IBD. Comparison of parental beliefs did not show such a difference. Conclusions These young people with CFS were at high risk of psychiatric disorder. They were substantially disabled when compared to individuals with a known chronic illness. Also, as a group, they were characterized by a preference for rest rather than exercise. 1 Table, 1 Appendix, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.