Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior - Volume 3, Issue 4, 2015

Volume 3, Issue 4, 2015

 * Self-management and ambulatory monitoring in chronic fatigue syndrome: future directions, Editorial by Fred Friedberg. Full Text
 * A case-control study of sleep-related factors and occupational injuries at an Italian teaching hospital. Full Text
 * Autonomic function in chronic fatigue syndrome with and without painful temporomandibular disorder. Abstract
 * Measuring quality of life and fatigue in adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome: estimates of feasibility, internal consistency and parent–adolescent agreement of the PedsQLTM. Abstract
 * Functional level of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome reporting use of alternative vs. traditional treatments. Abstract - Background: Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), but whether it is viewed as more or less effective than traditional medicine is unclear. Purpose: To explore patients' level of functioning based on their reports of current treatments used (i.e. traditional-only, CAM-only, or a combination of both). Methods: Participants were recruited from physician referrals and media sources (newspaper, support groups), and 97 participants were retained for this analysis. Based on self-report, individuals were divided into three groups: using CAM-only (N = 27), traditional-medicine-only (N = 22), or a combination of both treatments (N = 58). Results: Social functioning was significant (p < .01), with post-hoc analyses indicating significantly better social functioning for individuals taking CAM-only in comparison to patients using traditional-only or a combination of traditional and CAM treatments. Significantly fewer participants (p < .01) using CAM-only had a current psychiatric diagnosis. Conclusions: These findings suggest using CAM-only treatments in CFS is associated with higher social functioning and fewer current psychiatric diagnoses. The results support the need for research to fully evaluate how CAM may affect functioning among individuals with CFS.
 * Letter to the Editor, by Matthew Sorenson & Leonard A. Jason
 * Letter to the Editor, by Frank Twisk
 * Letter to the Editor, Variability in symptoms complicates utility of case definitions: a response to Twisk (2015), by Leonard A. Jason, Stephanie L. McManimen & Yolonda J. Williams
 * Publishing models and article dates explained, by Editorial Board