Primary Navigation for the CDC Website
CDC en Español

Search:  

News & Highlights

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome > Publications

Publications: Adolescents

This section contains a report covering issues specific to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in adolescents. >

Prevalence of chronic fatiguing illness among adolescents in the United States

Dobbins JG, Randall B, Reyes M, Steele L, Livens EA, Reeves WC.
Prevalence of chronic fatiguing illness among adolescents in the United States.
Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, vol. 3, pages 15-28, 1997.

Summary

Using information from three studies of fatiguing illness conducted by CDC that included information about adolescents, an analysis was performed to estimate the prevalence of fatiguing illness and chronic fatigue syndrome among children between the ages of 12 and 17. In spite of differences in methodology between the three studies, the overall results were consistent. Both chronic fatiguing illness and CFS were detectable in adolescents, but were less common than is seen in most adult populations. Prevalence of CFS-like illness among adolescents was approximately 20 per 100,000, compared with approximately 200 per 100,000 for various populations of adults.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the prevalence of chronic fatigue (CF) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) among adolescents in three studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to compare these estimates with those for adults in two of the studies.

Design: The studies used the following three designs: (i) a physician-based CFS surveillance system (ii) a random, cross-sectional community telephone survey and (iii) a cross-sectional survey of school nurses.

Setting: Surveillance included all patients with unexplained fatigue seen by participating physicians in four communities over a 2-year period; the community survey was conducted in a defined, urban population; and the survey of nurses included all middle, junior, and high school nurses in two communities. Patients or other participants: 23 adolescent cases of chronic fatiguing illness were reported to the surveillance system, 7 of whom were classified with CFS. The community survey screened 2,343 persons between the ages of 2 and 17 years and identified 8 with chronic fatiguing illness, only one of whom might have had CFS. The school nurses identified 22 students with fatiguing illness, 10 of whom had received a diagnosis of CFS.

Main outcome measures: The prevalence of chronic fatiguing illness was estimated in all three studies. The prevalence of CFS-like illness was estimated in one of them, and the prevalence of a reported diagnosis of CFS estimated in one of them.

Results: In general, the prevalence estimates of CF, CFS-like illness, and CFS for adolescents were lower than those for adults. One study also included children ages 2 to 11 years and found very little CF and no CFS. Cases of CFS among adolescents were evenly distributed across individual years of age.

Conclusions: CFS is clearly present among adolescents, although the prevalence for this group was lower than for most adult age groups. Differences in prevalence estimates among the three studies were consistent with differences in study designs. The validity of adolescent/adult comparisons within each study should not be affected by the study design. Further study of the applicability of the current CFS case definition to adolescents is warranted.

Page last modified on April 7, 2008

Topic Contents

• Topic Contents

Additional Navigation for the CDC Website

“Safer Healthier People”
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Tel: 404-639-3311  /  Public Inquiries: (404) 639-3534  /  (800) 311-3435