Study: More Americans Affected by Long-term Tiredness

Study: More Americans Affected by Long-term Tiredness

研究：更多的美国人受到长期疲劳的影响

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　　By Anna Matteo

　　18 December 2023

　　From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle Report.

　　The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its most recent estimate for adults with chronic fatigue syndrome.

　　People with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) suffer from at least six months of severe tiredness that is not helped by rest. They can also report pain and mental confusion.

　　Health officials said the study was the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome. The study gathered information from 2021 to 2022. It found that 1.3 percent of American adults reported having CFS or something like it.

　　These numbers from the CDC are larger than earlier studies have suggested. They likely include people with long COVID, a condition of long-lasting sickness after a COVID-19 infection.

　　The findings led CDC's Dr. Elizabeth Unger to say that CFS "is not a rare illness." She was one of the writers of the report.

　　The tiredness and other symptoms of CFS can get worse after exercise, work, or other activity. There is no cure, and no testing leads to a quick diagnosis.

　　No known cause

　　Doctors do not know the cause. However, research suggests it is the body's overreaction to an infection or other shock to the immune system.

　　The condition gained attention nearly 40 years ago, when many cases were reported in Incline Village, Nevada, and Lyndonville, New York. Some doctors dismissed it, calling it psychosomatic. Psychosomatic means a problem is mental or emotional rather than physical.

　　Some doctors also called it "yuppie flu." "Yuppie" stands for "young, urban professional," people who have good jobs and medical coverage.

　　Some doctors still think CFS is a mental condition, experts and patients say.

　　Doctors "called me a hypochondriac and said it was just anxiety and depression," said Hannah Powell. She is a 26-year-old woman from Utah who was diagnosed after five years.

　　New findings from the report

　　The new CDC report is based on a survey of more than 57,000 U.S. adults. They were asked if a doctor or other health-care professional had ever told them they had myalgic encephalomyelitis, or CFS, and whether they still have it. About 1.3 percent said yes to both questions.

　　CDC officials said that results in an estimate of 3.3 million U.S. adults.

　　The study also reported other findings. It said that CFS was more common in women than men. White people reported the condition more than other racial and ethnic groups. Earlier, smaller studies reported similar findings.

　　The findings showed there was less of a difference between women and men than some earlier studies suggested. And there was little difference between Black and white people.

　　However, the study also found that a higher percentage of poor people reported the condition than wealthy people.

　　CFS is not a popular diagnosis

　　Dr. Brayden Yellman is a specialist at the Bateman Horne Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. He said patients who report the condition usually have health care coverage. He said doctors might believe them more when they say they "continue to be fatigued and can't go to work."

　　The CDC study is based on patients' memories. It did not use medical records. That could lead to overcounting. However, it is possible that only a percentage of people with CFS are diagnosed, said Dr. Daniel Clauw. He is director of the University of Michigan's Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center.

　　He added that is not a "popular diagnosis to give because there (are) no drugs approved for it. There (are) no treatment guidelines for it."

　　The total number likely includes some patients with long COVID who were suffering from long-term tiredness, CDC officials said.

　　"We think it's the same illness," Yellman said. But long COVID is more widely accepted by doctors and is being diagnosed much more quickly, he said.

　　Powell, one of Yellman's patients, was a high school athlete who came down with an illness during a trip to Belize before her final year. Doctors thought she had malaria, and she seemed to recover. But she developed chronic tiredness, had trouble sleeping, and had frequent vomiting. She said she slowly stopped playing sports and had trouble doing schoolwork.

　　After five years, a doctor said she had chronic fatigue. She began to regain normal life through regular treatments of fluids and medications. She graduated from the University of Utah and now works for an organization that helps domestic violence victims.

　　Getting care is still a struggle, she said.

　　"When I go to the (emergency room) or to another doctor's visit, instead of saying I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I usually say I have long COVID," Powell said. "And I am believed almost immediately."

　　And that's the Health & Lifestyle Report. I'm Anna Matteo.

　　Mike Stobbe reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Anna Matteo

　　日期：2023年12月18日

　　来源：VOA学习英语，这是健康与生活方式报告。

　　美国疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）已经发布了其最新的关于患有慢性疲劳综合症的成年人的估计。

　　患有慢性疲劳综合症（CFS）的人至少会经历六个月的严重疲劳，休息并不能缓解。他们还可能报告疼痛和精神混乱的症状。

　　卫生官员表示，这项研究是首次全国性地估计了有多少美国成年人患有慢性疲劳综合症。这项研究收集了2021年至2022年的信息。研究发现，1.3%的美国成年人报告说他们患有慢性疲劳综合症或类似疾病。

　　CDC的这些数据比早期的研究建议的要多。他们可能包括患有长期新冠病毒疾病的人，这是一种在新冠病毒感染后长期生病的状况。

　　这些发现使CDC的Elizabeth Unger博士说，慢性疲劳综合症“并不是一种罕见的疾病”。她是这份报告的作者之一。

　　慢性疲劳综合症的疲劳和其他症状在运动、工作或其他活动后可能会变得更糟。没有治愈的方法，也没有测试可以快速诊断。

　　没有已知的原因。

　　医生们并不知道具体的原因。然而，研究表明，这可能是身体对感染或免疫系统受到的其他冲击的过度反应。

　　这种病症在近40年前引起了人们的关注，当时在内华达州的Incline Village和纽约的Lyndonville报告了许多病例。一些医生对此不以为然，称其为心身疾病。心身疾病意味着问题是精神或情绪的，而不是身体的。

　　一些医生还称其为"雅皮士流感"。"雅皮士"代表"年轻、城市专业人士"，这些人有好的工作和医疗保险。

　　专家和患者表示，一些医生仍然认为慢性疲劳综合症是一种精神疾病。

　　医生们“称我为疑病症患者，说这只是焦虑和抑郁，”26岁的犹他州女子Hannah Powell说。她在五年后被诊断出患有这种病。

　　报告的新发现

　　新的CDC报告基于对超过57,000名美国成年人的调查。他们被问到是否有医生或其他医疗专业人员告诉过他们他们患有肌痛性脑脊髓炎，或者慢性疲劳综合症，以及他们是否仍然有这种病。大约1.3%的人对这两个问题都回答是。

　　CDC官员表示，这导致了对美国有330万成年人的估计。

　　研究还报告了其他发现。它说，慢性疲劳综合症在女性中比男性更常见。白人比其他种族和族裔群体更多地报告了这种病症。早期的小规模研究报告了类似的发现。

　　这些发现显示，女性和男性之间的差异比一些早期研究建议的要小。黑人和白人之间的差异也很小。

　　然而，研究还发现，报告这种病症的贫困人口的比例比富人高。

　　慢性疲劳综合症并不是一个常见的诊断

　　在犹他州盐湖城的Bateman Horne中心，专家Dr. Brayden Yellman表示，通常报告这种病症的患者都有医疗保险。他说，当他们表示“持续感到疲劳，无法工作”时，医生可能更愿意相信他们。

　　CDC的这项研究基于患者的记忆，没有使用医疗记录，这可能导致过度计数。然而，密歇根大学慢性疼痛和疲劳研究中心的主任Dr. Daniel Clauw表示，可能只有一部分CFS患者被诊断出来。

　　他补充说，这并不是一个“受欢迎的诊断”，因为没有药物被批准用于治疗，也没有治疗指南。

　　CDC官员表示，总数可能包括一些患有长期新冠病毒疾病并且长期疲劳的患者。

　　Yellman说：“我们认为这是同一种疾病。”但是，长期新冠病毒疾病被医生更广泛接受，并且被诊断得更快。

　　Yellman的一位患者Powell，曾是一名高中运动员。在她最后一年的伯利兹之旅中，她突然生病。医生们认为她患有疟疾，她似乎恢复了过来。但她开始慢性疲劳，睡眠困难，频繁呕吐。她说她慢慢停止了运动，做学校作业也困难重重。

　　五年后，一位医生告诉她她患有慢性疲劳。通过定期的液体和药物治疗，她开始恢复正常生活。她从犹他大学毕业，现在为一个帮助家庭暴力受害者的组织工作。

　　她说，获得治疗仍然是一场挣扎。

　　"当我去急诊室或者去看其他医生时，我通常不会说我患有慢性疲劳综合症，我通常会说我患有长期新冠病毒疾病，"Powell说。"我几乎立刻就被相信了。"

　　这就是健康与生活方式报告，我是Anna Matteo。

　　这个故事由Mike Stobbe为美联社报道，Anna Matteo为VOA学英语改编。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　confusion –n.无法清晰思考的状态

　　diagnosis –n. 医生确定或确认一个人有某种医疗状况的过程

　　hypochondriac –n.比正常人更担心疾病和死亡的人

　　anxiety –n. 感到担忧和高度紧张的状态

　　survey –n. 研究人员向人们提问以了解他们的想法并报告结果的研究

　　fatigued –adj. 感到累或疲惫的

　　vomit –v. 胃部不适并将其内容物从口中排出