Tired, exhausted? You could have chronic fatigue syndrome – it’s more common than past studies suggest but ‘getting care is a struggle’

There is no known cause, no cure and no test or scan to make an easy diagnosis of chronic fatigue, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ‘yuppie flu’

3.3 million American adults suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, a CDC report suggests, although the tally probably includes some patients with long Covid

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Some 3.3 million American adults have chronic fatigue syndrome, for which there is no cure, although that total probably includes some people with long Covid. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15pm, 14 Dec 2023

The disease nicknamed “yuppie flu” – chronic fatigue syndrome – affects more American adults than previous studies have suggested: 3.3 million, according to US health officials’ first nationally representative estimate.

The report from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests the number is likely boosted by some patients with long Covid. The condition, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, clearly “is not a rare illness”, said the CDC’s Dr Elizabeth Unger, one of the report’s co-authors.

A 2010 study in Hong Kong found chronic fatigue had a prevalence rate of 10.7 per cent, which translated to about 600,000 adults in the city at that time. The rate was higher in women, older age groups, and those with low socioeconomic status.

Chronic fatigue is characterised by at least six months of severe exhaustion not helped by bed rest. Patients also report pain, brain fog and other symptoms that can get worse after exercise, work or other activity. There is no cure, and no blood test or scan to enable a quick diagnosis.

Some doctors dismiss chronic fatigue syndrome as psychosomatic – caused by a mental factor. Photo: Shutterstock

Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause, although research suggests it is a body’s prolonged overreaction to an infection or other jolt to the immune system.