Chronic fatigue syndrome-like caseness as a predictor of work status in 
fatigued employees on sick leave: four- year follow-up study.

Occup Environ Med. 2006 May 12; [Epub ahead of print]

Huibers MJ, Leone SS, Kant I, Knottnerus JA.

Maastricht University, Netherlands.

NLM Citation: PMID: 16698810


Objective: Many chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients are unemployed or 
unable to work, but most prognostic studies have failed to assess 
occupational outcomes in CFS. We aimed to assess whether CFS-like caseness 
(meeting the criteria for CFS) predicts work status in the long-term.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study in a sample of fatigued employees 
absent from work. Data were collected at baseline and four years later, and 
included CFS-like caseness and work status (inactive work status and full 
work incapacity). We used multiple logistic regression models to determine 
the association between CFS-like caseness and work status, controlling for 
potential confounders.

Results: CFS-like cases at baseline were three times more likely to be 
unable to work at follow-up than fatigued employees who did not meet CFS 
criteria at baseline (ORs between 3 and 3.3). These associations grew even 
stronger when we controlled for demographic and clinical confounders (ORs 
between 3.4 and 4.4).

Conclusion: A CFS-like status (compared to non-CFS fatigue) proved to be a 
strong predictor of an inactive work status and full work incapacity in the 
long-term. Since little is known about effective interventions that prevent 
absenteeism and work incapacity or facilitate return to work in subjects 
with chronic fatigue, there is a great need for powerful early 
interventions that restore or preserve the ability to work, especially for 
workers who meet criteria for CFS.