Is chronic fatigue syndrome in older patients a different disease? -- a clinical cohort study.

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disabling disorder characterised by persistent fatigue with a typical age of diagnosis of 35-50 years. CFS does present in those aged over 50 but whether this is a different disease in older age groups has not been considered. Therefore, we performed a clinical cohort study to examine and differentiate the clinical and autonomic features in CFS patients aged over 50.

Clinical characteristics of a novel subgroup of chronic fatigue syndrome patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Objectives: A significant proportion of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) also have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). We aimed to characterize these patients and differentiate them from CFS patients without POTS in terms of clinical and autonomic features.

Methods: A total of 179 patients with CFS (1994 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria) attending one of the largest Department of Health-funded CFS clinical services were included in this study.