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What is CFS?

Recognized and classified as G93.3 in the ICD (International Coding of Diseases) with a prevalence of 0.007 - 0.3% of the population. It is characterized by numerous complex and diverse symptoms; basically CFS patients suffer from intense physical and mental fatigue, not substantially relieved by rest and worsened significantly with any type of activity. The diagnosis is clinical, and is established with Criteria of Fukuda and Holmes.
The Fukuda criteria give the basis of the clinical picture of chronic fatigue syndrome, assuming that the evolution of the disease is more than 6 months long, that there is no other explanation of the symptoms, and it is accompanied with myalgias, weakness, post-extertional muscle weakness, sleep disorder, and impaired concentration and memory.
How frequent is this disease?
The estimated prevalence is between 350 and 430 patients with CFS for every hundred thousand inhabitants; it is more common in women, with a ratio from 7 to 3, or 8 to 2.