Sleep disturbance in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic fatigue

To examine whether the identification of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be made using more objective criteria than presently available (1), we compared 14 patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and 12 patients with chronic fatigue (but who did not meet the criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) on sleep architecture, continuity, and sleep abnormalities from polysomnography recordings. No differences in sleep continuity or architecture were found between the two groups, except that patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome recorded significantly increased sleep latencies. There were no differences in the frequency of sleep disorders. Results indicated that apart from sleep latency, other sleep variables do not adequately differentiate patients with CFS from those with chronic fatigue and that other variables should be examined, which may validly diagnose patients with CFS.