Article

Chronic fatigue and chronic pain both deter people from participating
in exercise, even though exercise is often a key component of treatment. While
reasons for this may seem obvious, the extent and mechanism(s) of reduced
exercise performance among affected individuals, particularly those with chronic
pain, are not well described.
We hypothesized that patients with chronic fatigue
are more deconditioned than those with chronic pain, due to the nature of their
illness or disability. DESIGN: Retrospective chart audit June 2012 to December
2014. SUBJECTS: Adolescents with chronic fatigue (320, 73 males) or chronic pain
(158, 30 males). METHODS: Maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test to determine peak
oxygen uptake (VO2) and work efficiency. RESULTS: Mean (standard deviation (SD))
peakVO2 was similar between patients with chronic fatigue and chronic pain: males
36.5 (SD 8.3) vs 34.2 (SD 7.3) ml/kg/min (p = 0.17); females 27.3 (SD 6.1) vs
27.6 (SD 6.6) ml/kg/min (p = 0.67). PeakVO2 was < 90% predicted in 80% and 75% of
females, or 77% and 83% of males, with chronic fatigue and chronic pain,
respectively. Peak O2pulse and work efficiency were likewise similar. CONCLUSION:
Patients in both groups manifest exercise responses typical of cardiopulmonary
deconditioning and to similar extent. Failure to detect unique cardiopulmonary or
muscle pathophysiology suggests a shared pathway to low aerobic work capacity.

Langue : ANGLAIS