Archives of environmental health
-
Fatigue has been associated with illness in veterans of the Gulf War; however, few studies have confirmed self-reported fatigue by using clinical evaluation, and symptomatic veterans have not been evaluated with established criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The authors describe the frequency and clinical characteristics of CFS in a sample of veterans residing in the northwestern United States. The sample was selected randomly from U. ⋯ In comparison to several clinical studies of CFS patients, the authors of this study found a lower proportion of veterans who reported a sudden onset of symptoms (19%) vs. a gradual onset (50%). Although it has previously been suggested that veterans of the Gulf War suffer from higher rates of chronic fatigue than the general population, the study results described herein--on the basis of clinical examination of a population-based sample of veterans-actually indicate that an increased rate may indeed exist. Gulf War veterans with unexplained fatigue should be encouraged to seek treatment so that the impact of these symptoms on overall quality of life can be reduced.