The demographic features of fatigue in the general population worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Summary & key facts

This paper pooled data from studies up to December 31, 2021 to estimate how common fatigue is around the world. The authors combined 91 studies with 115 prevalence measures and 623,624 people. They found that about 20.4% of adults reported general fatigue and about 10.1% had chronic fatigue lasting more than six months. Women had higher rates than men. Moderate fatigue was more common than severe fatigue, and fatigue without a clear medical cause was more common than fatigue with a clear medical cause. The results varied a lot between studies and methods, so the numbers are averages across many different populations and measures.

Key facts:

• The review included 91 studies, providing 115 prevalence data points and 623,624 participants from worldwide general populations.
• About 20.4% of adults reported general fatigue (95% CI 16.7–25.0).
• About 10.1% of adults reported chronic fatigue lasting more than six months (95% CI 8.2–12.5).
• Women were more likely than men to report fatigue. The combined odds ratio across studies was 1.4 (95% CI 1.3–1.6).
• Moderate fatigue had a pooled prevalence of 14.6% (95% CI 9.8–21.8). This was about 2.4 times the pooled prevalence of severe fatigue, which was 6.1% (95% CI 3.4–11.0).
• Fatigue without an identifiable medical cause ("unexplained" fatigue) was about 2.7 times more common than fatigue with a medical explanation. Among fatigue with medical causes, reported proportions were about 40.0% physical causes, 8.6% me
• Individual studies showed very different results (previous studies ranged from about 4.9% to 67.9% prevalence), so pooled numbers summarize diverse methods, ages, and places.

Abstract

Identifier: CRD42021270498.

Topics

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Health, psychology, and well-being Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Psychiatry and Mental health

Tags

Chronic fatigue Chronic fatigue syndrome Confidence interval Demography Environmental health Internal medicine Medicine Meta-analysis Odds ratio Physical therapy Population Sociology

Conditions & symptoms

Sleep disorder Difficulty focusing Lack of energy or motivation Poor sleep