A case control study of premorbid and currently reported physical activity levels in chronic fatigue syndrome. BMC Psychiatry. 2006 Nov 13;6(1):53 [Epub ahead of print] Smith WR, White PD, Buchwald D. Address correspondence to Wayne R. Smith, Ph.D., 401 Broadway, Box 359797, Seattle, Washington 98122, USA E-Mail: NLM Citation: PMID: 17101056 ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome typically report high levels of physical activity before becoming ill. Few studies have examined premorbid and current activity levels in chronically fatigued patients. METHODS: In a case-control study, 33 patients with chronic, unexplained, disabling fatigue attending a university-based clinic specializing in fatigue were compared to 33 healthy, age- and sex-matched controls. Patients rated their activity levels before their illness and currently, using scales designed for this purpose. Controls reported their level of activity of 2 years previously and currently. Chi-square analyses, Students t tests, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used in pair matched analyses. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, patients with chronic, unexplained fatigue rated themselves as more active before their illness (p less than 0.01) and less active currently (p less than 0.001). The patients also reported they currently stood or walked less than the controls (median [inter-quartile range] = 4 [2 - 5] versus 9 [7.5 - 12] hours, p less than 0.001), and spent more time reclining (median [inter-quartile range] = 12 [10 - 16] versus 8 [8 - 9.5] hours, p less than 0.001). These differences remained significant for the subset of patients who met strict criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia alone. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with chronic, unexplained, disabling fatigue reported being more physically active before becoming ill than healthy controls. This finding could be explained by greater premorbid activity levels that could predispose to illness, or by an overestimation of previous activity. Either possibility could influence patients perceptions of their current activity levels and their judgments of recovery. Perceived activity should be addressed as part of management of the illness. [Note: This is an Open Access article. Its full text is available in PDF at http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244x-6-53.pdf AOL: Here]