Table 2.
Diagnoses during 1-year follow-up period among 571 patients in primary care practices who presented with fatigue as a main symptom
| Diagnosis (code*) | No. (%)of patients | Diagnosis recorded during initial visit |
|---|---|---|
| Musculoskeletal (L) | 111 (19.4) | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis or polymyalgia rheumatica | 2 | 0 |
| Back problem | 35 | 2 |
| Neck problem | 20 | 1 |
| Joint problem in extremities | 42 | 0 |
| Myalgia | 21 | 2 |
| Noncardiac chest symptoms | 8 | 0 |
| Osteoarthritis | 7 | 0 |
| Psychological or social (P or Z) | 94 (16.5) | |
| Depressive symptoms or depression | 28 | 4 |
| Strain, neurasthenia, burnout | 31 | 15 |
| Anxiety, tension, hyperventilation (R), distress or worry | 25 | 4 |
| Sleeplessness or sleeping problem | 11 | 1 |
| Family or relationship problem | 9 | 1 |
| Psychological problem | 5 | 2 |
| Loss or mourning | 4 | 1 |
| Affective psychosis | 1 | 0 |
| Digestive (D) | 46 (8.1) | |
| Abdominal pain or symptoms | 23 | 0 |
| Diarrhea | 8 | 1 |
| Constipation | 5 | 0 |
| Abnormal liver function | 1 | 0 |
| Irritable bowel syndrome | 12 | 2 |
| Neurologic (N) | 38 (6.7) | |
| Headache | 13 | 2 |
| Dizziness | 11 | 1 |
| Chronic tension-type headache | 8 | 2 |
| Migraine | 3 | 0 |
| Polyneuropathy | 2 | 0 |
| Concussion | 2 | 1 |
| General (A) | 28 (4.9) | |
| Anemia | 9 | 3 |
| Adverse drug effect | 6 | 1 |
| Chronic fatigue syndrome | 4 | 0 |
| Chronic pain syndrome or widespread pain | 3 | 1 |
| Hay fever, rhinitis, allergy | 6 | 2 |
| Infection (various) | 104† | 2 |
| Respiratory (R) | 28 (4.9) | |
| Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, decreased pulmonary function or chronic bronchitis, including exacerbations | 12 | 1 |
| Chronic sinusitus | 3 | 0 |
| Cough | 9 | 1 |
| Upper airway or throat symptoms | 3 | 0 |
| Dyspnea | 2 | 0 |
| Endocrine (T) | 16 (2.8) | |
| Hypothyroidism | 7 | 1 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 4 | 0 |
| Hyperthyroidism | 3 | 0 |
| Celiac disease | 1 | 0 |
| Vitamin B12 deficiency | 1 | 0 |
| Obesity | 1 | 0 |
| Cardiovascular (K) | 11 (1.9) | |
| Heart failure | 3 | 0 |
| Angina pectoris | 3 | 0 |
| Arrhythmia | 3 | 0 |
| Cardiac symptoms | 2 | 1 |
| Intermittent claudication | 1 | 0 |
| Female genital organs (X) | 6 (1.1) | |
| Climacteric symptoms | 6 | 0 |
| Malignant disease | 4 (0.7) | |
| Bladder (U) | 1 | 0 |
| Leukemia (B) | 1 | 0 |
| Melanoma (S) | 1 | 0 |
| Colon (D) | 1 | 0 |
| Skin (S) | 3 (0.5) | |
| Itch | 3 | 0 |