Characteristic | Number |
---|
Type of fatigue onset a
| Â |
Gradual | 12 |
Sudden | 10 |
Age, years b
| Â |
≤50 | 12 |
>50 | 11 |
Duration of illness b
| Â |
≤10 | 15 |
>10 | 8 |
No. of CFS symptoms b
| Â |
4 | 8 |
5 | 7 |
≥6 | 8 |
Body mass index c
| Â |
Normal | 6 |
Overweight | 7 |
Obese | 10 |
Illness group d
| Â |
1 | 4 |
2 | 19 |
-
a Onset type defined as sudden (self-reported as developing fatigue in = 1 week) or gradual (developing fatigue over a period = 1 month). One subject described onset as between 1 week and one month and was not classified for this stratification. b Further stratification and analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test did not show different results. c Analysis performed on BMI <25 (normal) compared with >30(obese). Subjects considered overweight were not included in this particular analysis. Further stratification and analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant differences between the groups (results not shown.). d Illness group defined by factor analysis of symptoms followed by cluster analysis [4].