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Exhaustion, fatigue and tiredness are symptoms that cannot be clearly attributed to any specific illness. In addition, the colloquial use of these terms makes them difficult to distinguish during the anamnesis interview. Diagnosis can therefore be challenging and involves not only psychiatric but also somatic differential diagnoses.
ME/CFS is often accompanied by other conditions. Early detection and possible treatment can improve the health and quality of life of those affected by ME/CFS.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an often severe illness that, in addition to fatigue, is accompanied by varying degrees of physical and neurocognitive symptoms. ME/CFS can be described as a "neglected disease" because, although ME/CFS is relatively common, it is not diagnosed in many of those affected. According to estimates by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 4 million people in the US alone are directly affected by CFS. In Germany, a 1993 study by the Federal Ministry of Health estimates a prevalence of 0.3%. The WHO has classified CFS as a disease of the nervous system, and the ICD also lists CFS as a neurological disease under G93.3.
