THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF FATIGUE AND DEPRESSION - A FRENCH PRIMARY-CARE STUDY

The prevalence of fatigue as a presenting complaint and as a symptom i s evaluated in French general practice patients. The data for a sample of 3784 persons 18-64 years-of-age who were seen by 367 general pract itioners were examined for fatigue as a presenting complaint, diagnosi s, and reported symptoms of persistent fatigue. Gender, age, and socio -professional category were considered as potential risk correlates. A t least one of the symptoms of persistent fatigue was reported by 41.2 % of the patients, but only 7.6% had presented with fatigue to the doc tor. Women reported more symptoms of fatigue than men, but they were o nly slightly more likely to present with, or be diagnosed with fatigue ; women were more frequently diagnosed with depression. There was a st rong relationship between the symptoms of depression as measured by th e Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D) and fati gue, but fatigue was neither sensitive nor specific for the diagnosis of depression. Age and fatigue as a presenting complaint and diagnosis were strongly associated for men. After adjusting for sex and age, we found that lower social classes were less likely to be diagnosed as f atigued, though they were more likely to report symptoms of fatigue.