Abstract
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is generally considered to be a women's health issue, but the illness occurs also in men. The research objective of this study was to determine if illness patterns and functional status differed between the sexes. Because our own data showed that women with CFS have significantly more comorbid fibromyalgia or multiple chemical sensitivity than men, we eliminated patients with these comorbid conditions from our evaluation. Women with CFS were quite similar to men with CFS in terms of demographics, psychiatric status, functional status, and assessments of disability. Women reported more infectious/flu-like symptoms (represented by a factor derived from factor analysis) than men, but these differences were insignificant after controlling for other variables. Cluster analysis revealed that women were more likely than men to fall in the cluster characterized by symptom severity. Differences found were those of degree rather than of type; strikingly different illness patterns—suggestive of different pathophysiological processes between the sexes—were not found.
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Tseng, CL., Natelson, B.H. Few Gender Differences Exist Between Women and Men with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings 11, 55–62 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOCS.0000016270.13052.cf
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOCS.0000016270.13052.cf