CDC: Chronic fatigue syndrome more common than previously thought

Dennis Romboy
·3 min read
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Nancy Rose, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and exhibits long-haul symptoms including brain fog and memory difficulties, pauses while organizing her desk space on Jan. 25, 2022, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Rose, 67, said many of her symptoms waned after she got vaccinated, though she still has bouts of fatigue and memory loss. U.S. health officials estimate 3.3 million Americans have chronic fatigue syndrome — a bigger number than previous studies have suggested, and one likely boosted by patients with long COVID, according to results released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is more common than previously understood, according to a new federal report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data Friday indicating that about 3.3 million adults in the U.S. suffer from the condition. The number is larger than previous studies have suggested, and is likely boosted by patients with long COVID.

The condition clearly “is not a rare illness,” said the CDC’s Dr. Elizabeth Unger, one of the report’s co-authors, per The Associated Press.

The new report is based on a survey of 57,133 U.S. adults in 2021 and 2022. Participants were asked if a doctor or other health care professional had ever told them they had myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome, and whether they still have it. More women than men were likely to have the condition.

Key findings include:

  • In 2021–2022, 1.3% of adults had myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

  • The percentage of adults who had chronic fatigue syndrome increased with age through ages 60–69 and then declined among those ages 70 and older.

  • White non-Hispanic adults were more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome compared with Asian non-Hispanic and Hispanic adults.

  • Adults with a family income less than 100% of the federal poverty level were more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome, followed by those at 100%–199%, and those at or above 200%.

  • The percentage of adults who had chronic fatigue syndrome increased as their place of residence became more rural.

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What causes chronic fatigue syndrome?

Scientists have not yet identified what causes chronic fatigue syndrome. It is possible that it has more than one cause, meaning patients could have illness resulting from different causes, including infection, immune system changes and stress, according to the CDC.

It affects all age, sex and racial and ethnic groups and costs the U.S. economy about $18–$51 billion annually, the CDC says.

The condition rose to prominence nearly 40 years ago, when clusters of cases were reported in Incline Village, Nevada, and Lyndonville, New York. Some doctors dismissed it as psychosomatic and called it “yuppie flu,” per AP.

Some physicians still hold that opinion, experts and patients say.

Is chronic fatigue syndrome a real illness?

Doctors “called me a hypochondriac and said it was just anxiety and depression,” Hannah Powell, a 26-year-old Utah woman who went undiagnosed for five years, told AP.

Powell was a high school athlete who came down with an illness during a trip to Belize before he senior year. Doctors thought it was malaria, and she seemed to recover. But she developed a persistent exhaustion, had trouble sleeping and had recurrent vomiting. She gradually had to stop playing sports, and had trouble doing schoolwork, she said.

After five years, she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and began to achieve some stability through regular infusions of fluids and medications. She graduated from the University of Utah and now works for an organization that helps domestic violence victims.

Getting care is still a struggle, she said.

“When I go to the ER or to another doctor’s visit, instead of saying I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I usually say I have long COVID,” Powell told AP. “And I am believed almost immediately.”

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