I costi economici e sociali della sindrome da affaticamento cronico/encefalomielite mialgica: una prima rassegna della letteratura sull’argomento

Abstract. Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) describes a condition of chronic weakness that cannot be alleviated by rest and it is associated with lower quality of life and higher health care utilization. In western countries, its prevalence ranges from 0.2 to 1%. Despite the many efforts carried out during the last decades to investigate the nature of this syndrome, there are still uncertainties and controversies with respect to its definition, diagnosis, and treatment. Some - Copyright - Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore downloaded by Giorgio Guarini IP 93.42.214.46 Fri, 27 Jul 2018, 15:54:57 2 authors suggest that there may be a non-negligible percentage of patients that are not yet diagnosed with this pathology, due to the difficulty in identifying the symptoms. Henceforth, the economic burden of the disease is still unclear, though it is highly recognized that costs are mainly related to productivity loss. The present literature review investigates this topic, by considering, through a chronological perspective, the most relevant contributions focused on the economic costs and consequences of CFS/ME. It describes how the economic burden of CFS has been gradually and increasingly considered through the years by researchers and addresses the aspects that should deserve more attention in the next future.