Firestormm
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Reviews in Health Care: Full paper: http://ojs-seed.neagen.it/index.php/rhc/article/view/280/html
Corresponding author
Leonard A. Jason, Ph.D. Director, Center for Community Research, DePaul University, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614
I have yet to read it all thoroughly, though I generally look out for things from Jason, and I don't think kids receive much in the way of special focus - so this review looked appealing.
Especially liked the following - which is about as far as I have got thus far:
Edit: Y'all will LOVE the bit on CBT (well in part I suppose)...
Corresponding author
Leonard A. Jason, Ph.D. Director, Center for Community Research, DePaul University, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614
Abstract
Research on pediatric Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is reviewed in this article. Many recent articles in this area highlight the existence of key differences between the adult and pediatric forms of the illness.
This review article provides an overview of pediatric ME/CFS, including epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, treatment, and prognosis. Challenges to the field are identified with the hope that in the future pediatric cases of ME/CFS can be more accurately diagnosed and successfully managed.
Pediatric Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a protracted and persistent illness that produces a variety of debilitating effects in children and adolescents [1,2].
While a hallmark symptom of ME/CFS is profound fatigue, sufferers report a wide variety of concomitant symptoms including post-exertional malaise, body, myofascial and/or joint pain, cognitive difficulties, unrefreshing or disturbed sleep, headaches, and sore throat.
Some symptoms are more common than others; however, the condition is characterized by unique symptom patterns and unpredictable symptom severity, which further complicates both treatment and prognosis [3].
Children and adolescents often present with symptoms that differ from their adult counterparts [4]. For example, stomachaches and rash are often reported in cases of pediatric ME/CFS, but are far less common in adults [2,3].
According to Bell [5], the three most common symptoms (aside from fatigue) in children with ME/CFS were headaches, sleep disturbance, and cognitive difficulties.
Furthermore, children and adolescents may exhibit symptoms in response to their unique day-to-day routine (i.e., trouble in school, loss of friends, dropping out of extracurricular activities, etc.), and, due to their still-developing coping skills, are more apt to display irritability in response to the disease [2].
Dowsett and Colby [6] found ME/CFS to be the most common cause of prolonged medical leave from school among adolescents. In another study, Carter and colleagues [7] found that 55% of children with ME/CFS reported a decline in academic performance since illness onset and 80% indicated major reduction in extracurricular activities.
Smith and colleagues [8] found that one third of adolescents with ME/CFS report severe restrictions of all activities and marked drops in school performance; some missed up to 80 days in a six-month period.
I have yet to read it all thoroughly, though I generally look out for things from Jason, and I don't think kids receive much in the way of special focus - so this review looked appealing.
Especially liked the following - which is about as far as I have got thus far:
Epidemiology
Epidemiologic methods summarize information about the distribution of illnesses and allow investigators to make inferences about the importance of risk factors or even causal factors (e.g., smoking as a precursor to cancer).
However, even if the specific cause of an illness or social condition is not known, epidemiologists can uncover associations between risk factors that can lead to important ways of understanding the etiology and maintenance of an illness [9].
If biased sampling methods such as the utilization of physician gatekeepers to identify cases of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) result in an over- or underestimate of the true prevalence rate, it may impede efforts to understand the nature of the condition.
This error occurred with the first generation of adult ME/CFS prevalence studies. Reyes and colleagues[10] published epidemiologic research that portrayed ME/CFS as being relatively rare, affecting about 20,000 adults, and characterized patients as being European-American and middle to upper-class women.
These findings supported the myth of ME/CFS as a “YUPPIE flu” disease. So as long as scientists and the public perceived ME/CFS as rare, those with this illness would be unlikely to receive the needed federal attention and community resources to develop a better understanding of this illness.
This CDC epidemiologic study was based on a method that relied on physician referral of patients with ME/CFS [10]. However, if the physicians did not believe the illness existed, or if patients did not have a physician, many people with ME/CFS would not be referred to researchers or counted in prevalence surveys.
A second generation of adult prevalence studies involved a randomly selected group of individuals being telephoned and screened for symptoms of ME/CFS [11]. Those who were identified in the telephone screen as having several ME/CFS symptoms underwent a complete medical and psychiatric examination to determine whether they actually had ME/CFS.
This study estimated that over 800,000 people had ME/CFS, and this illness was found to be more prevalent among people of color. This study [11] and others [12] that used community-based samples differed from the methods used in the earlier CDC study [10] whereby physicians determined who was referred as a possible ME/CFS case.
Edit: Y'all will LOVE the bit on CBT (well in part I suppose)...