Chronic fatigue syndrome in male Gulf War veterans and civilians - A further test of the single syndrome hypothesis

Different modes of fatigue onset in male Gulf War veterans versus male civilians raise the possibility that chronic fatigue syndrome ( CFS) may not be a single disease entity. We addressed this issue by comparing 45 male veterans with CFS to 84 male civilians who satisfied identical case criteria. All were evaluated for fibromyalgia ( FM), multiple chemical sensitivity and psychiatric comorbidity. CFS was more likely to present in a sudden flu-like manner in civilians than veterans ( p <.01) and comorbid FM was more prevalent in civilians ( p <.01). These findings question the assumption that all patients with CFS suffer from the same underlying disorder.