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How Common Is CFS?
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CFS affects approximately 200 people per 100,000 by #56153 19 year
Several studies have helped to establish the distribution and frequency of occurrence of CFS. While no single study can be considered definitive — each approach has inherent strengths and weaknesses — epidemiologic studies have greatly improved our understanding of how common the disease is, which individuals are the most susceptible to developing it, whether it can be transmitted to others, and how the illness typically progresses in individuals.
One of the earliest attempts to estimate the prevalence of Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1989 to 1993. Physicians in four U.S. cities were asked to refer possible Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome patients for clinical evaluation by medical personnel participating in the study. The study estimated that between 4.0 and 8.7 per 100,000 persons 18 years of age or older have Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome and are under medical care. However, these projections were underestimates and could not be generalized to the U.S. population since the study did not randomly select its sites. A more recent study of the Seattle area has estimated that CFS affects between 75 and 265 people per 100,000 population. This estimate is similar to the prevalence observed in another CDC study conducted in San Francisco, which put the occurrence of CFS-like disease (not clinically diagnosed) at approximately 200 per 100,000 persons.
In general, it is estimated that perhaps as many as half a million persons in the United States have a CFS-like condition.
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Several studies have helped to establish the distribution and frequency of occurrence of CFS. While no single study can be considered definitive — each approach has inherent strengths and weaknesses — epidemiologic studies have greatly improved our understanding of how common the disease is, which individuals are the most susceptible to developing it, whether it can be transmitted to others, and how the illness typically progresses in individuals.
One of the earliest attempts to estimate the prevalence of Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1989 to 1993. Physicians in four U.S. cities were asked to refer possible Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome patients for clinical evaluation by medical personnel participating in the study. The study estimated that between 4.0 and 8.7 per 100,000 persons 18 years of age or older have Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome and are under medical care. However, these projections were underestimates and could not be generalized to the U.S. population since the study did not randomly select its sites. A more recent study of the Seattle area has estimated that CFS affects between 75 and 265 people per 100,000 population. This estimate is similar to the prevalence observed in another CDC study conducted in San Francisco, which put the occurrence of CFS-like disease (not clinically diagnosed) at approximately 200 per 100,000 persons.
In general, it is estimated that perhaps as many as half a million persons in the United States have a CFS-like condition.
Viewed 15058 times
All #56153's Answers