https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/1/e71.long?trendmd-shared=0
basically a lifelong study on fatigue; children
"14 000 expectant mothers were recruited into the study, and the children have been followed up regularly since birth with postal questionnaires for both children and their parents, clinical assessments, and the collection of biological samples"
"When the study children were aged 13 years, their mothers or main carers were sent a questionnaire that included questions on whether their teenager had been feeling tired or lacking in energy over the last month (yes, no); how long the tiredness had lasted (<3 months, 3 to 5 months, 6 months to 5 years, ≥5 years); how many days their teenager had missed school because of tiredness; and whether the tiredness/lack of energy had stopped the teenager taking part in hobbies, sport, or leisure activities (not at all; only a little; quite a lot; a great deal). The questionnaires asked whether the teenager snored (never, sometimes, often); whether the mother thought the fatigue was due to the teenager playing too much sport; and whether the teenager took regular medication"
"Of the 5657 13 year olds with sufficient information to define chronic disabling fatigue, 1995 were tired or lacking in energy in the last month. Of these, the following did not have chronic disabling fatigue: 1284 who were tired for <3 months; 516 who had fatigue but were not disabled by it; 18 whose mothers thought they were fatigued due to playing too much sport; 27 who snored frequently (to exclude sleep apnea); and 33 who had probable depression. There were no teenagers on medication for long-term illnesses that could have caused the fatigue. There were 296 children with missing data on snoring, and it was assumed they did not snore frequently."
"Of 117 13 year olds with
chronic disabling fatigue of at least 3 months’ duration, 53 (45.30%) had been affected for more than 6 months and
7 for more than 5 years."
"The main limitation of this study is that definitions of chronic disabling fatigue were based on parental reports of symptoms.
The CDC8 criteria require that 4 of 8 additional symptoms are present, whereas the NICE9 criteria require 1 additional symptom. Each set of criteria require physician diagnosis to exclude other conditions that cause fatigue."
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to reveal an association of early life family adversity with chronic disabling fatigue in teenagers. Our results are consistent with studies in adults, which describe an inverse association between CFS/ME and socioeconomic status"
Think the one on 16 year olds was a follow up from this one.
IMO The most likely candidates for ME are the 7 that were ill for more than 5 years and possibly some of the 53 affected for more than 6 months but without any other criteria it's all largely supposition/guesswork.
Shows (again) how this approach is wrong if the study purports to be one on ME or CFS (MEGA) rather than 'chronic disabling fatigue'.
(posted on the opposing mega thread).
My heart sank when he mentioned this study.