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C F S  - Information International     
 

Living  with  CFS/ FM

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Health-related quality of life in CFS: Predictors of physical functioning and psychological distress, lowry.pakenham08.txt.  Self-reported differences in empowerment between lurkers and posters in online patient support groups, vanuden-kraan.etal08.txt. CFS: Implications for women and their health care providers during the childbearing years, allen08.txt.

 

The deleterious effects of disease-illness dualism, yunus04.txt, yunus.04.txt. ‘Can the social model explain all of disability experience? Perspectives of persons with CFS’, taylor05.txt, Taylor05.pdf  and whitehead05.pdf.

 

Acceptance of the chronicity of CFS is important, vandamme.etal06.txt, vandamme.etal06.pdf. “A positive” approach is of no importance to the illness, hyland.etal06.pdf.  An 'Overwhelming Illness': Women's experiences of learning to live with CFS/ME, edwards.etal07.txt, edwards.etal07.pdf.

 

A train-the-trainer education and promotion program: CFS - a diagnostic and management challenge, brimmer.etal08.txt.  Longitudinal change in CFS: what home-based assessments reveal, friedberg.sohl08.txt, friedberg.sohl.08.txt, friedberg.sohl08.pdf.

 

Quality of Life (QOL) with CFS

CFS is a far more serious condition than "the strains of everyday life",  Soderlund et al., 2000.  A Dutch study concluded, that CFS is more devastating than what is currently addressed,  van Heck & de Vries, 2002.  A Canadian study found the lack of illness legitimization most disturbing,  Lehman et al., 2002.  A Belgian study stressed the serious daily hassles from CFS,  Van Houdenhove et al., 2002.  Compared with MS CFS-patients worry more about their illness, but this is attributable to others not taking the illness seriously,  Taillefer et al., 2003.  Subjective quality of life in patients with CFS, rakib.etal05.txt.

A focus on the marital relationship when the wife suffers form CFS,  Goodwin, 2000.  Dr. Jason's group has also studied the effect of living with CFS,  Richman et al., 2000.  This 3-country study underscores the poor quality of life with CFS,  Hardt et al., 2001.  Spouses suffer too,  Bigatti & Cronan, 2002, and have problems with caring for the patient,  Ax et al., 2002.  Quality of life and symptom severity in CFS was studied, taylor04.txt, taylor04.pdf.

My own 5-year study demonstrated poor quality of life, including problems with reading, allergies and sexual functioning in CFS patients diagnosed by CDC criteria, andersen.etal04.txt, andersen.etal04.pdf.  Our second study, a 9-year follow-up of the patients, underlined the chronicity of the disease, andersen.etal07.txt, andersen.etal07.pdf. We found improvement in one measure only, mental health over the 9 years studied. Work disability was almost 100%.

Disability evaluation compared to exercise capacity, nijs.etal04.txt, nijs.etal04.pdf.  Dr. Jason’s group studied disability in relation to socio-demographic characteristics in CFS and ICF, carrico.etal04.txt, carrico.etal04.pdf. One member of this team gave name to the Fennell phase theory of CFS, vanhoof.etal04.txt, vanhoof.etal04.pdf. Conservation of resources is important, taylor.etal06.txt, taylor.etal06.pdf.

Social support is lacking, prins.etal04.txt, prins.etal04.pdf. Perceived stigma is a big problem, looper.kirmayer04.txt,  looper.kirmayer04.pdf.

Functioning in individuals with CFS: increased impairment with co-occurring MCS and FM, brown.jason07.txt. CFS patients have lower QOL than patients with RA, nunez.etal07.txt, nunez.etal07.pdf.

Sexual Dysfunction

In my own 5-year study we found problems with sexual functioning in CFS patients, andersen.etal04.txt, andersen.etal04.pdf.  A Dutch study found no sexual dysfunction in CFS patients, however less stringent CFS-diagnostics were used, vermeulen.scholte04.txt, vermeulen.scholte04.pdf.

Sexual dysfunctioning in FM, tikiz.etal05.txt, and prins.etal06.txt, and ryan.etal08.txt and (Spain), orellana.etal08.txt.

 

Quality of Life with FM

Work disability in FM, al-allaf07.txt. Prevalence and impact of fibromyalgia on function and quality of life in individuals from the general population: results from a nationwide study in Spain, mas.etal08.txt

Reduction in life quality and the ways to measure this in FM.  By comparison with RA, birtane.etal06.txt, patients with FM have greater difficulty coping than patients with SLE,  Da Costa et al., 2000,  and greater impairment,  Viitanen et al., 2000.  FM quality of life was assessed,  Bernard et al., 2000.  The name FM itself had no impact on the functionality, or pain, experienced by FM patients,  White et al., 2002.  Health related quality of life and quantitative pain measurement in females with chronic non-malignant pain, laursen.etal05.txt. A study found seasonal symptoms reported by FM patients,  Hawley et al., 2001.

A study from Brazil also measured FM patients' quality of life,  Martinez et al., 2001.  A Turkish study compared life satisfaction in FM with Rheumatoid Arthritis and found FM patients just as impaired,  Celiker & Borman, 2001.  A nursing intervention model for women with FM was studied,  Sylvain & Talbot, 2002.  A Swedish study focused on transitions in FM women,  Soderberg & Lundman, 2002.  With age, FM patients’ symptomatology decreases,  Cronan et al., 2002.  Compared to myofascial pain syndrome, FM patients had more problems in relation to QOL, tuzun.etal04.txt.

One study found reduced pain after 3 years of FM,  Poyhia et al., 2001, but the authors did not ask themselves if this was simply adaptation or coping behavior.  In a Spanish study education was found to improve both quality of life and pain in FM,  Borsch et al., 2002.

One study focused on suffering and dysfunction,  Dennis & Turk, 2002, and another on living with FM,  Sturge-Jacobs, 2002.  Adaptation strategy was important,  Lindberg & Iwarsson, 2002.

An instrument found useful in FM was the pain vigilance and awareness questionnaire (PVAQ),  Roelofs et al., 2003.  Also the Trust in Physician Scale can be used,  Freburger et al., 2003.  Self management was successful, cedraschi.etal04.txt.

The Belgian research team found overlap in activity limitations between CFS and FM, nijs.etal.03.txt, nijs.etal.03.pdf.

 

Gender & Quality of Life

In one study men with FM had different - and fewer - symptoms compared to women,  Yunus et al., 2000,  whereas in another, smaller, study men had worse symptoms,  Buskila et al., 2000.  Dr. Yunus focused on gender differences,  Yunus, 2002.  One Swedish study focus on the loss of human dignity with women having FM,  Soderberg et al., 1999,  another focus on men with FM,  Paulson et al., 2002.  Spouses and the whole family are affected,  Soderberg et al., 2003.

Women with FM/CFS experience stigmatization,  Asbring & Narvanen, 2002. These authors analyzed patient power and control in women with CFS and FM, asbring.narvanen04.pdf.

 

Alcohol intake cease

CFS patients reduce or cease alcohol intake, woolley.etal04.txt, woolley.etal04.pdf.
 

Ethnicity & Symptoms

Reporting of symptoms was different according to ethnicity and socio-economical status,  Torres-Harding et al., 2002.
 

Functional Impairment

FM from the patients' perspective:  Prince et al., 2000.

From Scandinavia comes several studies on work disability and force with FM,  Henriksson & Liedberg, 2000,  and one on CFS and FM,  Asbring, 2001.  This Swedish study is about the respective role of the patient and society in FM work disability,  Liedberg & Henriksson, 2002.  A Finish study compared function in spondyloarthropathy with FM and found equal impairment,  Heikkila et al., 2002.  

German researchers have correlated long-time work disability in CFS with somatic complaints, tritt.etal04.txt, tritt.etal04.pdf.

In a review the authors concluded: “For questions of disability and employment in CFS, the limitations inherent in the current literature are extensive”,  ross.etal04.txt,  ross.etal04.pdf.

Work Impairment

Employment status in Spain, cervera.etal05.txt. The value of exercise testing and self-reported measures for the assessment of employment status, nijs.etal.05.txt. CFS-like caseness as a predictor of work status in fatigued employees on sick leave: 4- year follow-up study, huibers.etal06.txt, huibers.etal06.pdf.

 

Adjusting

One study finds adolescent girls with CFS to adjust to the situation,  van Middendorp et al., 2001.  Nursing intervention promoted adjustment for FM patients,  Wassem et al., 2002.
 

Coping

One important aspect of contracting a chronic illness is the process of learning how to cope with ones situation,  coping strategy.  A 2001-study found young women with FM to show more distress than older women,  Burckhardt et al., 2001.  This study on coping concludes that patients need psychological support,  Hallberg & Carlsson et al., 2002.

A Dutch study focus on the doctor-patient relationship,  Prins et al., 2000.  Also UK psychiatrists have addressed this question,  Deale & Wessely, 2001.  Mental health practitioners are influenced by the treatment prescriptions from physicians in their attributions for CFS,  Taylor et al., 2001.

A study on coping in children and adolescents found severe illness-related impairment, garralda.rangel04.txt, garralda.rangel04.pdf.

Coping behavior was the object of a psychiatric study,  Ax et al., 2001 (abstract),   Ax et al., 2001.  Defensive coping styles in CFS,  Creswell & Chalder, 2001 (abstr),   Creswell & Chalder, 2001 (paper).  In their 4 group-Chicago study, Jason et al. studied the influence of coping on outcome,  Jason et al., 2003 (short),   Jason et al., 2003.  Coping strategies in FM subgroups,  Raak et al., 2003.  Relationship between changes in coping and treatment outcome in patients with FM, nielson.jensen04.txt.

Evaluation of a community-based service model for patients with CFS, taylor.etal04.pdf. Coping styles in people with CFS identified from the general population of Wichita, KS, nater.etal06.txt, nater.etal06.pdf.

Coping with pain,  Hellstrom & Jansson, 2001, and kraaimaat.evers03.txt. From Jason’s group: Coping in relation to ethnicity, njoku.etal05.txt, njoku.etal05.pdf.

 

Economy

The economical consequences from loss of work are among the factors influencing the life of FM patients,  Assefi et al., 2003   Assefi et al., 2003 (pdf).  Economical consequences are also great for society. In the UK the cost of CFS has been estimated,  McCrone et al., 2003.  A US study concluded that the economical impact of CFS to society is comparable to other major diseases,  reynolds.etal04.txt,  reynolds.etal.04.txt, reynolds.etal04.pdf.  A Dutch study found large differences in cost-of-illness and well being between patients with FM, chronic low back pain or ankylosing spondylitis,  boonen.etal04.txt.

 


 
 

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Mette Marie Andersen, MD