Karen Jordan

Karen M. Jordan, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, is the founder and chief psychologist at Jordan Psychological Assessment Center, Overland Park, Kansas, a center that provides psychological and psychoeducational assessments for children, adolescents and adults.

Pediatric Case Definition

 * 2006, "A Pediatric Case Definition for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome""'Summary: For a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), most researchers use criteria that were developed by Fukuda et al. (1994), with modifications suggested by Reeves et al. (2003). However, this case definition was established for adults rather than children. A Canadian Case Definition (ME/CFS; Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/CFS) has recently been developed, with more specific inclusion criteria (Carruthers et al., 2003). Again, the primary aim of this case definition is to diagnose adult CFS. A significant problem in the literature is the lack of both a pediatric definition of ME/CFS and a reliable instrument to assess it. These deficiencies can lead to criterion variance problems resulting in studies labeling children with a wide variety of symptoms as having ME/CFS. Subsequently, comparisons between articles become more difficult, decreasing the possibility of conducting a meta-analysis. This article presents recommendations developed by the International Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Pediatric Case Definition Working group for a ME/CFS pediatric case definition. It is hoped that this pediatric case definition will lead to more appropriate identification of children and adolescents with ME/CFS.'"

Notable studies

 * 2006, Prevalence of Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in a Community-Based Sample (Abstract)
 * 2006, Psychosocial and Physical Impact of Chronic Fatigue in a Community-Based Sample of Children and Adolescents (Abstract)
 * 2001, Thirteen-Year Follow-Up of Children and Adolescents With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome "Abstract - Objective: To describe the educational, social, and symptomatic outcome of children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome 13 years after illness onset. Methods: Between January 1984 and December 1987, 46 children and adolescents developed an illness suggestive of chronic fatigue syndrome. Follow-up questionnaires were obtained from 35 participants an average of 13 years after illness onset. Data were obtained concerning subsequent medical diagnoses, amount of school missed, presence and severity of current symptoms, and subjective assessment of degree of illness resolution. Results: Of the 35 participants, 24 were female (68.6%) and 11 were male (31.4%). Average age at illness onset was 12.1 years. Eight participants (22.9%) had an acute onset of symptoms, 27 (77.1%) had a gradual onset. No participant received an alternative medical diagnosis that could have explained the symptom complex between illness onset and follow-up. Thirteen participants (37.1%) considered themselves resolved of illness at follow-up; 15 participants (42.9%) considered themselves well but not resolved; 4 (11.4%) considered themselves chronically ill; and 3 (8.6%) considered themselves more ill than during the early years of illness. Correlation with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey was good for current level of symptoms and degree of recovery. Eight participants (22.9%) missed >2 years of school, and 5 of these were still ill at follow-up. Amount of school missed correlated with both illness severity at follow-up and perceived social impact of the illness. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the presence of an illness consistent with the current definition of chronic fatigue syndrome. Eighty percent of children and adolescents affected had a satisfactory outcome from their fatiguing illness, although the majority of these participants had mild to moderate persisting symptoms. Twenty percent of participants remain ill with significant symptoms and activity limitation 13 years after illness onset. Chronic fatigue syndrome in children and adolescents may result in persistent somatic symptoms and disability in a minority of those affected."
 * 2000, Prevalence of Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Like Illness in Children and Adolescents"Abstract - 'A community-based screening of over 12,000 households was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of fatigue and CFS-like illness in a sample of 5- to 17-year olds. Results indicate that over 4% of the sample was fatigued and that 2.05% were diagnosed with CFS-like illness. Adolescents had a slightly higher rate of CFS-like illness (2.91%) than did pre-pubescent children (1.96%). Those with CFS-like illness were almost evenly divided between male (47.5%) and female (52.5%). Youngsters of Latino origin had the highest representation in the CFS-like group. Symptom data, family patterns, and other data are presented for both the CFS-like group and the entire sample.'"
 * 2000, Chronic fatigue syndrome: sociodemographic subtypes in a community-based sample.
 * 1997, Research with Children and Adolescents with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Methodologies, Designs, and Special Considerations