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Table 1 Characteristics of CFS/ME patients in current and discontinued employment due to fatigue-related symptoms (IQR = interquartile range)

From: The impact of CFS/ME on employment and productivity in the UK: a cross-sectional study based on the CFS/ME national outcomes database

 

Currently employed

Employment discontinued

P-value*

Age (years)

n = 811

n = 998

 

18 - 21

59 (57.3%)

44 (42.7%)

 

22 - 29

153 (49.8%)

154 (50.2%)

 

30 - 39

265 (51.5%)

250 (48.5%)

 

40 - 49

202 (42.9%)

269 (57.1%)

 

50 - 59

119 (34.6%)

225 (65.4%)

 

60+

13 (18.8%)

56 (81.2%)

< 0.001

Sex

n = 811

n = 998

 

Female

643 (46.4%)

743 (53.6%)

 

Male

168 (39.7%)

255 (60.3%)

0.02

Duration of illness (months)

n = 743

n = 878

 

Median (IQR)

35 (15 - 84)

48 (18 - 120)

< 0.001

Chalder Fatigue (0 - 33)

n = 752

n = 911

 

Median (IQR)

25 (21 - 30)

27 (23 - 31)

< 0.001

SF-36 physical function (scale 0 - 100)

n = 744

n = 901

 

Median (IQR)

50 (35 - 65)

30 (20 - 45)

< 0.001

HADS anxiety (scale 0 - 21)

n = 751

n = 916

 

Median (IQR)

10 (7 - 13)

11 (7 - 14)

0.02

HADS depression (scale 0 - 21)

n = 753

n = 919

 

Median (IQR)

9 (6 - 12)

10 (7 - 13)

< 0.001

Visual Analogue Pain (scale 0 - 100)

n = 717

n = 886

 

Median (IQR)

43 (18 - 65)

55 (26 - 72)

< 0.001

  1. * Chi-squared test for categorical variables; Mann-Whitney two-sample test for continuous variables