Chronic fatigue syndrome in male Gulf war veterans and civilians: a further test of the single syndrome hypothesis.
Different modes of fatigue onset in male Gulf War veterans versus male civilians raise the possibility that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may not be a single disease entity. We addressed this issue by comparing 45 male veterans with CFS to 84 male civilians who satisfied identical case criteria. All were evaluated for fibromyalgia (FM), multiple chemical sensitivity and psychiatric comorbidity. CFS was more likely to present in a sudden flu-like manner in civilians than veterans (p < .01) and comorbid FM was more prevalent in civilians (p < .01). These findings question the assumption that all patients with CFS suffer from the same underlying disorder.
Ciccone
Donald S
DS
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, USA. donald.ciccone@va.gov
Weissman
Lois
L
Natelson
Benjamin H
BH
D000328:Adult; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018923:Persian Gulf Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*