Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and High Allostatic Load

Results From a Population-Based Case-Control Study in Georgia

Bibliographic Data

ID19303028
AuthorsElizabeth M Maloney (National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, corresponding author), Roumiana Boneva, Roumiana S Boneva, Urs M Nater (0000-0002-2430-5090), William C Reeves
Year2009
Volume71
Issue5
Pages549-556
Publication date2009-06-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/psy.0b013e3181a4fea8
PMID19414615
OpenAlexW1991545116
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited34

Objective: To confirm the association of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with high allostatic load (AL) level, examine the association of subsyndromal CFS with AL level, and investigate the effect of depression on these relationships and the association of AL with functional impairment, fatigue, symptom severity, fatigue duration, and type of CFS onset. AL represents the cumulative physiologic effect of demands to adapt to stress. Methods: Population-based case-control study of 83 persons with CFS, 202 persons with insufficient symptoms or fatigue for CFS (ISF), and 109 well controls living in Georgia. Unconditional logistic regression was used to generate odds ratios (ORs) as measures of the association of AL with CFS. Results: Relative to well controls, each 1-point increase in allostatic load index (ALI) was associated with a 26% increase in likelihood of having CFS (ORadjusted = 1.26, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.00, 1.59). This association remained in the presence and absence of depression (ORadjusted = 1.35, CI = 1.07, 1.72; ORadjusted = 1.35, CI = 1.10, 1.65). Compared with the ISF group, each 1-point increase in ALI was associated with a 10% increase in likelihood of having CFS (ORadjusted = 1.10, CI = 0.93, 1.31). Among persons with CFS, the duration of fatigue was inversely correlated with ALI (r = −.26, p = .047). Conclusions: Compared with well controls, persons with CFS were significantly more likely to have a high AL. AL increased in a gradient across well, ISF, and CFS groups. CFS = chronic fatigue syndrome; ISF = insufficient symptoms or fatigue for CFS; AL = allostatic load; ALI = allostatic load index; BMI = body mass index; HPA = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal; CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; SF-36 = Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36; MFI = Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory; CRP = C-reactive protein; HDL = high-density lipoprotein; AUC = area under the curve; OR = odds ratio; CI = Confidence Interval; HL = Hosmer-Lemeshow

Allostasis · Allostatic load · Chronic fatigue syndrome · Environmental health · Population · Psychiatry · Clinical Psychology · Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Stress Responses and Cortisol · Gerontology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub