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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Rare in Teens, but When it Hits, it Hits Hard, Study Shows
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Teens, Sleep
Only a small fraction of teens end up with chronic fatigue syndrome. Credit: Getty Images
But a new study confirms that only a small fraction of teens end up with chronic fatigue syndrome. But when it hits, it hits hard. It also uncovers what parents who struggle to stay awake in the wee hours of the morning to enforce curfews for this nocturnal breed have intuitively known: A lack of sleep wipes out the parents, Reuters Health reports.
A survey of Dutch adolescents suggests only one in 900 teens suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), defined by the Centers for Disease Control as "a debilitating and complex disorder characterized by profound fatigue that is not improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity."
Sounds just like what they say strikes the parents of teens, especially those who have to miss work to care for their teen offspring afflicted with chronic fatigue, Reuters says the researchers suggest.
Among those teens diagnosed with CFS, more than 90 percent had at least missed "considerable" school in the last six months; with some saying they had not attended school at all during that time. The study was published recently in the journal Pediatrics.
The researchers say the findings are significant because CFS has "severe implications for school participation, etc., necessitating adequate diagnosis and treatment," Sanne Nijhof of the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands tells Reuters.
The impact is felt by many more people than the patient, Katharine Rimes of King's College in London, tells the news service.
"Missing substantial amounts of school can potentially have profound effects on their educational, social and emotional development," Rimes tells Reuters. "It also has potentially serious impact on the family. If the child is off school, one parent -- usually the mother -- usually has to stay at home to care for them, and often give up their job altogether. This can obviously have adverse financial and psychological effects."
There is no cure for CFS and scientists don't know what causes it, the researchers tell Reuters.
Of potential concern, the authors note, is that the condition appears to be "under-recognized" by primary care physicians. Only half of all general practitioners who agreed to participate in the study said they accepted CFS as a distinct diagnosis, versus 96 percent of the pediatricians consulted during the study.
And nearly 75 percent of teens with CFS were not diagnosed by their general practitioners. This lack of awareness probably stems from the condition's infrequency, Nijhof tells the news service.
"Adolescents with severe and long-lasting fatigue should be referred to a pediatrician," Rimes tells Reuters.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2011 @ 11:51AM
Zana Johanson said...A lot of teens probably aren't getting enough sleep. Same way with a lot of us adults though. Sometimes the biggest factor is the way we chose to use our time. Make yourself shut the tv off earlier. Stop answering phone calls and texts once it's late. And yes, even shut the computer off. You don't need to update your status and tweet all night long. When you're winding down for the evening, sometimes some soft music or light reading can be nice - for teens or us adults. I even occasionally play one of the games on Http://bit.lY/GamesForFree since they're all family friendly - meaning non violent - to go to bed on. Once I get a little wind down time like that, I'll shut the technology off and spend a little time just relaxing or picking up the house before bed. It helps.
Reply
4-21-2011 @ 11:54AM
johnzana said...Oh and chronic fatigue syndrome is very different than just plain old not getting enough sleep as a teen. I think a lot of CFS is coming from diet and pollutants and not just lack of good restful nights. If you find yourself feelign sluggish a lot, that HTtp://bit.lY/GetWellStayHealthy site may have some new ideas for you. I've gotten a lot of healthy free samples to try from them. Can't complain about that.