Short report
Alcohol use in chronic fatigue syndrome

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Volume 56, Issue 2, February 2004,
pp 203-206

James Woolley, Roz Allen and Simon Wessely [*]

Academic Department of Psychological Medicine, Guy's,
King's & St Thomas's School of Medicine and Institute of Psychiatry, 103
Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK

[*] Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-20-7848-0448; fax: +44-20-7848-5129

Received 4 December 2001; accepted 22 January 2003.  Available online 4
March 2004.


Abstract
Objective: To examine the anecdotal observation that patients with
chronic fatigue syndrome develop alcohol intolerance.

Methods: A consecutive case series of 114 patients fulfilling UK criteria
for chronic fatigue syndrome referred to a specialist clinic.
Self-reported alcohol use pre- and postdiagnosis, fatigue symptoms and
comorbidity measures were collected.

Results: Two-thirds reduced alcohol intake. The most common reasons were
increased tiredness after drinking (67%), increased nausea (33%),
exacerbated hangovers (23%) and sleep disturbance (24%). One-third of the
subjects also stopped drinking because "it seemed sensible." Some had
been advised to avoid alcohol, but the majority (66%) did so on the basis
of personal experience.

Conclusion: Our data supports the anecdotal belief that chronic fatigue
syndrome patients reduce or cease alcohol intake. This is associated with
greater impairment in employment, leisure and social domains of function,
and may hint at psycho-pathophysiological processes in common with other
conditions that result in alcohol intolerance.

Author Keywords: Alcohol; Chronic fatigue syndrome;
Impairment; Neurasthenia; Symptom; Intolerance


Copyright © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.