and cognitive problems are often "counted towards" psychiatric conditions
such as depression (i.e. in the scoring of questionnaires). Tom]
"Forty percent reported some degree of chronic fatigue and 27 percent met
diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome; people with fatigue
symptoms were also more likely than those without them to have psychiatric
disorders. For comparison, far less than one percent of Americans met
chronic fatigue syndrome criteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, although many more than that have symptoms."
=============================================
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BD4XW20091214?sp=true
'Alarming' mental problems seen in SARS survivors
Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:18pm GMT
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many survivors of the severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS) pandemic of 2003 suffer from persistent mental health
problems and chronic fatigue years later, new research from Hong Kong shows.
What's more, these psychiatric problems seemed to become more common among
survivors over time, say Dr. Marco Ho-Bun Lam and colleagues from The
Chinese University of Hong Kong, who call the persistence of these problems
"alarming."
A year after the disease outbreak, Lam and his team note in their report in
the Archives of Internal Medicine, some survivors still had mental problems
even though their physical symptoms had improved.
To look at these effects long-term, and to further investigate chronic
fatigue symptoms often reported by SARS survivors, Lam and his team looked
at 233 SARS survivors an average of 41 months after the study participants
had gotten sick. The study participants' average age was 43 years, and 70
percent were women.
More than 40 percent had "active psychiatric illness" at the time of
follow-up, the researchers found, most commonly post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression, somatoform pain disorder (chronic pain due to
psychological factors), and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Forty percent reported some degree of chronic fatigue and 27 percent met
diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome; people with fatigue
symptoms were also more likely than those without them to have psychiatric
disorders. For comparison, far less than one percent of Americans met
chronic fatigue syndrome criteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, although many more than that have symptoms.
As found in other studies, health care workers were at particularly high
risk of mental health problems; Lam and his team found their risk was more
than tripled.
People who were unemployed at follow-up were nearly five times as likely to
have psychiatric problems, and the risk for people who felt socially
stigmatized was tripled. While these factors could both increase risk of
psychiatric problems and result from these problems, "our findings suggested
that poor functional rehabilitation and adaptation after SARS were major
issues among SARS survivors," the researchers write.
"Because new infectious diseases are emerging at an unprecedented rate and
pose a global threat for pandemics," Lam and his colleagues conclude, "there
should be better preparation in public health strategies for dealing with
both the acute phase of a disease and the long-term potential mental health
complications."
They conclude: "Various channels to mental health services should be
available to patients, health care workers, and the general public, not only
during the acute phase of a disease but also the aftermath of an infectious
disease outbreak."
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, December 14/28, 2009.
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