Chronic fatigue syndrome affects adolescents

• April 25, 2024

The low speed in visual information processing as well as the attention capacity can predict the fatigue syndrome in teenagers

The fatigue refers to the feeling of extreme tiredness, exhaustion or weakness that people present after a busy day, can even make everyday tasks more difficult. Fatigue is a common symptom among students ; more than 8% of adolescents have experienced it for more than a month and 2% have suffered Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CCFS, for its acronym in English) for 6 months.

It has been shown that fatigue is associated with a low cognitive functioning in adults. In case of adolescents chronic fatigue is associated with a poor academic performance since it can produce a decrease in learning, memory, visual information processing and attention. That is why it is considered important to study this phenomenon. Recently it was shown that fatigue is correlated with a decrease in the cognitive functions of the students.

In one study they were evaluated, through different tests that included memorization and repetition, 142 students of both genders and different secondary grades. The analysis revealed that poor performance during the processing of visual information and attention span can help detect students who may or may not develop Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in secondary Which suggests that a good development in these skills They can help prevent the development of fatigue in the future.

The fatigue it is defined as the difficulty to voluntarily initiate and sustain different activities, suggesting that being able to maintain the capacities initiation and retention of cognitive processes are necessary to be able to maintain oneself in a state of optimal alert . Therefore, in order to prevent poor academic performance due to fatigue, early recognition and identification of those students at high risk of suffering from the syndrome is important.

Source

Behavioral and Brain Functions (2011)

Video Medicine: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Kids and Teens (April 2024).