Chronic fatigue a major cause of school absence

Up to one per cent of all secondary school pupils may be suffering from chronic fatigue, research has found.

The study, from the University of Bristol, looked at the number of children suffering from chronic fatigue in school to identify those with undiagnosed Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

The researchers looked at data from 2,855 11 to 16 year olds, and identified 416 students who had missed 20 per cent of more of a six week school term without a known medical cause.

They narrowed down the set to 315 pupils, of which three were known to have CFS/ME and 42 were referred to a specialist for further investigation.

Of the 42, 23 were found to have CFS/ME, and had been ill on average for 22 months. They had missed, on average, over a third of all school days.

Overall, the study found one per cent of all students surveyed suffered from CFS/ME.

Those affected were offered treatment and of the 19 that were followed up, 12 fully recovered.

Lead author Dr Esther Crawley said: "These findings reveal the scale of how many children are affected by disabling chronic fatigue that prevents them attending school, and how few are diagnosed and offered help."

The findings showed that fewer than one in five pupils with CFS/ME received a diagnosis or was offered treatment. However, those diagnosed at school made a rapid recovery when offered treatment.

"Our findings suggest that school-based surveillance for fatigue could be of potential benefit given that reduced school attendance is associated with worse educational attainment, and may increase the risk of unemployment. This approach, together with referral to specialist services, has the potential to reduce school absence and its harmful effects," Dr Crawley said.

Earlier studies found only 52 per cent of GPs feel confident in making the diagnosis in adults, let alone children. This means many children may remain undiagnosed and untreated.

The study is published in BMJOpen.

This article was published on Tue 13 December 2011