Causes and Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Causes

In fact, the most common triggers of fatigue and chronic fatigue are not diseases, but repeated overwork and fatigue caused by stress. Next most common are conditions such as male menopause and adrenal fatigue, and lastly mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are common triggers. More recently, the number of young women complaining of fatigue has been increasing, and in many cases chronic fatigue can be caused by nutritional imbalance due to severe dieting or irregular eating, or by sleep disorders caused by child-rearing activities after childbirth.

1. Common diseases that cause fatigue First, among blood disorders, there is severe anemia. Among endocrine disorders, there are diabetes and thyroid disease. Among kidney diseases, there are chronic renal failure and chronic nephritis. In addition, infectious diseases include tuberculosis and acute and chronic viral hepatitis. Cardiovascular diseases include hypertension and various heart diseases. Mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, somatization disorder, and sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and narcolepsy can also cause chronic illness. In addition, various malignant tumors, rheumatic diseases, febrile diseases, nutritional deficiencies, and obesity can be common pathological causes of fatigue. Also, as research on male menopause has recently been actively conducted, it has been revealed that a decrease in male hormones can be a cause of fatigue. And the diagnosis known as 'adrenal fatigue' is also a cause of chronic fatigue. This is due to a decrease in adrenal stress hormones, with symptoms such as waking up in the morning feeling unrefreshed, afternoon lethargy and sleepiness, and a chronic feeling of fatigue.

2. Medications that cause fatigue Many medications that we casually use in daily life, as well as medications prescribed by doctors, often cause fatigue. For example, antihypertensive drugs, tranquilizers, antidepressants, anti-inflammatory pain relievers, most anticonvulsants, corticosteroids, cold medicines, oral contraceptives, and nicotine can induce fatigue. In addition, as the number of patients with drug abuse has increased recently, various forms of substance abuse, including alcoholism, and withdrawal symptoms can also cause fatigue.

3. Causes of chronic fatigue syndrome In fact, the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome has not yet been identified, so it is not even certain whether this syndrome is clearly a disease. There is also no conclusive answer as to whether its cause is simply a physical manifestation of depression or anxiety, or an infection caused by a specific virus. More recently, some experts believe it is a common outcome caused by a combination of factors, including viral infections and other infectious diseases, transient trauma or shock, chronic stress, toxic substances, and various other triggers.

Symptoms

1. Clinical characteristics of fatigue The complaints made by people who feel fatigued vary widely. Some patients directly say, "I am extremely tired," but in most cases they describe fatigue in terms such as, "It is hard to get up in the morning," "I keep wanting to lie down and have no strength at all," "For some reason I feel lethargic and have no energy," "I have absolutely no motivation and feel tired," or "Can you do something to give me a bit more energy?"

2. Other symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome complain not only of fatigue but also of various cognitive impairments, such as being unable to perform simple daily activities or having reduced concentration. And when they complain of fatigue, they usually also report various accompanying symptoms. Although these differ depending on the cause of the fatigue, the symptoms that generally accompany fatigue are as follows.

So far, we have covered the causes and symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. In the next part, we will look at the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Source: National Health Information Portal, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency