United States Veterans with comorbid chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic pain: do women differ from men?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: Examine group differences among women and men United States Veterans with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and chronic pain (CP). Method: Administrative data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse were derived from a cohort that met criteria for CP in 2018. Differences across sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric comorbidities, and pain-related healthcare utilization were examined. Analyses included group comparisons (chi-square tests for independence or independent samples t-tests) and effect size differences (Cohen’s d or Cramer’s V). Results: The period prevalence for comorbid CFS and CP was greater among women Veterans (1.20% vs. 0.61%). Women Veterans with CFS and CP were younger (d = 0.80), more likely to be Black, and less likely to be White (V = 0.13). Women Veterans with CFS and CP were more likely to have fibromyalgia (V = 0.23), headache (V = 0.24), or urogenital, pelvic, and menstrual pain (V = 0.14), and less likely to have neuropathy relative to men; they were also more likely to have depression (V = 0.15) or anxiety (V = 0.13). Conclusions: Comorbid CFS and CP are more prevalent among women Veterans relative to men. Group differences in pain clusters and psychiatric comorbidities may have implications for clinical offerings to women Veterans with these conditions.