Resumen

REGAL RAMOS, Raúl Jesús. Epidemiological differences between patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia assessed on the medical unit of disability evaluation unit of Madrid. Med. segur. trab. [online]. 2016, vol.62, n.245, pp.360-367. ISSN 1989-7790.

Objective: To describe the epidemiological differences between patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM). Method: A descriptive study was conducted on the patients in the Medical Unit of the National Institute of Social Security in Madrid from 2005 to 2014 with the diagnosis of CFS. A study was made on the following variables: age, sex, marital status, professional occupation and level of education. Later these results were compared with data from a previous study in patients with Fibromyalgia in the same area and the same age. Result: The total number of patients studied was 448. Regarding people with FM our area observed a median younger (48 against 53), a greater number of men (18% against 8%), a lower number of patients with primary education (10% against 33%) and a greater number of scientific - intellectual (16% against 4%) and administrative (37% against 19%) professionals. Conclusion: The CFS and FM share diagnostic criteria, an unknown etiopathogenesis, some epidemiological characteristics and absence of objective evidences. Perhaps the most distinguishing variables in both pathologies are the patient´s level of education and occupation. From a likely psychosomatic origin, this neurasthenic/somatoform syndrome, presents symptoms that are similar to the diagnostic criteria for FM in patients with lower educational background or more physical profession, while in patients with higher educational level or more intellectual work the symptoms are more in line with the criteria of CFS.

Palabras clave : Chronic fatigue syndrome; Fibromyalgia; Epidemiology; Profession.

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