Comparison of Patients With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

Abstract

In general, demographic and clinical factors and health locus of control do not clearly distinguish patients with CFS, FM, and MCS. Symptoms typical of each disorder are prevalent in the other two conditions.

Brain dysfunction as one cause of CFS symptoms including difficulty with attention and concentration

“…In contrast, some researchers have been impressed by the large amount of comorbidity occurring among several of these syndromes—namely, CFS and fibromyalgia (FM). Confirming this with data from our Center, we found ~37% of patients with CFS also fulfilled case criteria for FM (Ciccone and Natelson, 2003), and one study of patients with FM reported that about 20% also fulfilled criteria for CFS (Buchwald and Garrity, 1994). Regarding this overlap between syndromes, Wessely et al (1999), for example, have suggested that the “similarities between them outweigh the differences” and Barsky and Borus (1999), noting similarities between CFS and FM, suggested an explanatory model based on the concept of symptom amplification—that is, a common psychological tendency to somatize or misconstrue the significance of normal physical sensation.…”

Complementary and alternative healthcare use by participants in the PACE trial of treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome

“…Patients with chronic illnesses utilise CAM [7] for diverse reasons including engagement in one's own health, positive expectations of treatment and the need for hope [5,7]. CAM treatments used by those with CFS include massage therapy, relaxation, meditation, homoeopathy, acupuncture, naturopathy and herbal therapies [7,8,9,10]. Two systematic reviews of CAM for CFS found most studies were small, had poor methodology and produced inconclusive evidence [7,10].…”

Single aetiological agent may not be feasible in CFS patients

“…However, similar immune functional abnormalities have been reported in patients exposed to toxic chemicals without evidence of viral infection or reactivation [16, 17]. Moreover, the symptomatologies described in these patients overlap with CFS patients, thus making the differentiation between the two groups extremely difficult [18–21]. In these articles, the substantial overlap between chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia and CFA was discussed.…”