title: Review of juvenile primary fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
abstract: This article reviews the current literature on childhood fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. In doing so, it questions assumptions about the presumed nature of the disorders-that they are distinct from each other and are duplicates of their adult counterparts. It also attempts to synthesize the available data to reach some preliminary judgments about these disorders: that fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome may be related in children and may not be duplicates of the adult disorders; that psychological and psychosocial factors are unlikely contributors to the etiology of these disorders; and that the evidence is increasingly pointing to a role for genetic factors in their etiology. A discussion of the research into treatments for childhood fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome highlights the lack of well-designed, controlled studies. Finally, directions for future research are offered where results of the current literature are unclear.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Breau
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Ju
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis