Charactistics of Physical Condition and Working Capacity of Patients with the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Abstract

The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a multifactorial disease with a predominant dysfunction of the central nervous system (CNS), immune and endocrine systems in response to damaging factors (infectious, stressful, physical, etc.), which cannot but affect the physical condition and physical performance of persons with CFS. In this connection, the purpose of the study was to determine the level of physical condition and physical performance in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome. To achieve the goal, we used: interviews, collection of anamnesis, determination of the level of physical condition, determination of the level of physical working capacity. Assessment of the patient’s physical condition was carried out according to the data proposed by L. Y. Ivashchenko; determination of the level of physical performance in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome was carried out using the PWC170 test. A total of 63 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were examined. Among the surveyed, women predominated (n = 39, average age 46,27 ± 8,88 years); men made up a group of 24 people (average age – 49,76 ± 8,61 years). The results of the study of patients with CFS showed that there are certain differences in the parameters studied between women and men. Thus, at the age of 27 to 46 years, 72,7 % of women had an average level of physical condition. Only the 1st woman (9,1 %) had a high level of physical condition; 18,2 % had a physical condition that was below average. Between the ages of 47 and 59, only 20 % had an average physical condition, while 66,7 % of women had a lower physical and low physical level. In men with CFS, the general tendency of index decrease of the physical state continued to increase with age, but the fluctuations in the index of physical state in men of different age groups were statistically significantly different.

Indicators of physical performance in men significantly differed from the indicators of physical performance in women. In 70,4 % of men, physical performance was at the level of the average; In 5,88 % of men, physical performance was above average and 23,5 % were below average.

The results of physical working capacity in women in the age groups of 30–39 years, 40–49 years, 50–59 years indicate that with age, these indicators in women with CFS are gradually decreasing – the highest indicators of working capacity are women in the age category from 30 to 39 years old, the lowest in the age of 50–59 years.