Management
There is no approved pharmacological treatment, therapy or cure for CFS, although various drugs have been or are being investigated. A 2014 report prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality stated that there are wide variations in patient management, that many receive a multifaceted approach to treatment, and that no medications have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of ME/CFS, although several have been used off label. The report concluded that although counseling and graded exercise therapy (GET) have shown some benefits, these interventions have not been studied fully enough to recommend them for all persons affected. The report expressed concern that GET appears to be associated with worsening symptoms in some. The CDC no longer recommends these interventions, and there is some evidence of patient harm.The CDC guide for the management of CFS states that while there is no cure, a number of methods might improve symptoms. Treatment strategies for sleep problems; pain; depression, stress, and anxiety; dizziness and lightheadedness (orthostatic intolerance); and memory and concentration problems are enumerated.
A 2009 meta-analysis showed that African Americans and Native Americans have a higher risk of CFS, though it specifically excluded other more common ethnicities worldwide, and it acknowledged that studies and data were limited.More women than men get CFS. A large 2020 meta-analysis estimated that between 1.5 and 2.0 times more cases are women. The review acknowledged that different case definitions and diagnostic methods within datasets yielded a wide range of prevalence rates. The CDC estimates CFS occurs up to four times more often in women than in men. The illness can occur at any age, but has the highest prevalence in persons between the ages of 40 and 60. CFS is less prevalent among children and adolescents than among adults.Blood relatives of those who have CFS appear to be more predisposed, implying that genetic factors may increase the risk of susceptibility to the illness.According to the CDC, "CFS is a biological illness, not a psychologic disorder", and those affected "are neither malingering nor seeking secondary gain". The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies CFS as a neurological disease in the ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (ICD-11). Viral and other infections
Post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) or post-viral syndrome describes a type of chronic fatigue syndrome that occurs following a viral infection. A recent review found Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) antibody activity to be higher in patients with CFS, and that a subset of patients with CFS were likely to have increased EBV activity compared to controls.