Table 3.
Number (%) of patients reporting a symptom on at least a weekly basis and factor loadings.a
| Item no. | Symptom | Frequency (%) of symptom reported at least weekly |
Factor loading on the first unrotated factor |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (n = 1751) | Any-IBS (n = 1122) | Any-FMS (n = 1127) | Any-CFS (n = 619) | Any-IBS (n = 1122) | Any-FMS (n = 1127) | Any-CFS (n = 619) | ||
| 13 | Waking up still feeling tired | 1629 (93.0) | 1019 (90.8) | 1111 (98.5) | 603 (97.4) | 0.65 | 0.41 | 0.38 |
| 10 | Fatigue for no reason | 1566 (89.5) | 961 (85.7) | 1095 (97.1) | 602 (97.3) | 0.73 | 0.51 | 0.37 |
| 15 | Difficulty concentrating | 1489 (85.1) | 910 (81.1) | 1066 (94.6) | 587 (94.9) | 0.77 | 0.59 | 0.57 |
| 14 | Mental fog | 1481 (84.6) | 902 (80.5) | 1061 (94.1) | 583 (94.2) | 0.75 | 0.57 | 0.54 |
| 11 | Fatigue increasing the day after you are active | 1471 (84.1) | 872 (77.8) | 1078 (95.7) | 602 (97.3) | 0.74 | 0.48 | 0.38 |
| 16 | Memory problems | 1455 (83.1) | 883 (78.7) | 1050 (93.4) | 574 (92.7) | 0.73 | 0.52 | 0.52 |
| 38 | Waking up often at night | 1449 (82.7) | 906 (80.7) | 1032 (91.6) | 521 (84.2) | 0.54 | 0.38 | 0.44 |
| 17 | Easily feel too cold | 1407 (80.4) | 883 (78.7) | 984 (87.4) | 526 (85.0) | 0.52 | 0.33 | 0.42 |
| 9 | Pain increasing the day after you are active | 1398 (79.8) | 818 (72.9) | 1070 (94.9) | 558 (90.2) | 0.77 | 0.48 | 0.57 |
| 23 | Bloating of the stomach | 1366 (78.0) | 970 (86.5) | 893 (79.2) | 466 (75.3) | 0.36 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| 2 | Pain in legs and arms which is not due to hard exercise | 1357 (77.5) | 648 (71.1) | 1070 (94.9) | 520 (84.0) | 0.77 | 0.48 | 0.62 |
| 7 | Back pain | 1348 (77.0) | 842 (75.1) | 1020 (90.6) | 486 (78.6) | 0.66 | 0.44 | 0.56 |
| 19 | Easily feel too hot/sweating | 1340 (76.5) | 841 (74.9) | 958 (85.0) | 510 (82.4) | 0.60 | 0.42 | 0.47 |
| 18 | Very cold hands or feet | 1339 (76.5) | 847 (75.5) | 933 (82.8) | 499 (80.6) | 0.49 | 0.37 | 0.45 |
| 37 | Difficulty getting to sleep | 1325 (75.7) | 830 (73.9) | 957 (84.9) | 504 (81.4) | 0.62 | 0.43 | 0.51 |
| 3 | Pain moving from one place of body to another on different days | 1268 (72.4) | 752 (67) | 1022 (90.7) | 486 (78.6) | 0.76 | 0.46 | 0.64 |
| 36 | Sensitivity to noise | 1264 (72.2) | 769 (68.5) | 937 (83.0) | 519 (83.8) | 0.72 | 0.58 | 0.60 |
| 5 | Stomach pain | 1233 (70.4) | 910 (81.1) | 799 (70.9) | 421 (68.0) | 0.38 | 0.60 | 0.57 |
| 8 | Sensitive or tender skin | 1229 (70.2) | 750 (66.8) | 969 (86.0) | 447 (72.2) | 0.70 | 0.49 | 0.64 |
| 29 | Irritable | 1220 (69.6) | 786 (70.0) | 860 (76.2) | 434 (70.1) | 0.57 | 0.54 | 0.53 |
| 35 | Sensitivity to bright lights | 1178 (67.2) | 718 (64.0) | 888 (78.8) | 487 (83.8) | 0.73 | 0.59 | 0.60 |
| 30 | Jittery, easily startled, often worried | 1175 (67.1) | 765 (68.2) | 840 (74.5) | 423 (68.4) | 0.61 | 0.58 | 0.58 |
| 34 | More clumsy than others | 1161 (66.3) | 713 (63.5) | 869 (77.0) | 482 (77.8) | 0.70 | 0.58 | 0.57 |
| 20 | Thirsty all the time | 1154 (65.9) | 736 (65.5) | 865 (76.7) | 440 (71.1) | 0.61 | 0.45 | 0.51 |
| 56 | Numbness, tingling, pins and needles | 1153 (65.9) | 703 (62.7) | 894 (79.3) | 446 (72.1) | 0.76 | 0.58 | 0.68 |
| 4 | Headaches | 1149 (65.6) | 722 (64.3) | 588 (74.5) | 453 (73.2) | 0.59 | 0.50 | 0.52 |
| 28 | Feeling anxious for no reason | 1125 (64.3) | 743 (66.2) | 793 (70.4) | 395 (63.8) | 0.54 | 0.53 | 0.52 |
| 44 | Itchy skin | 1122 (64.1) | 735 (65.5) | 836 (74.2) | 421 (68.0) | 0.61 | 0.53 | 0.60 |
| 26 | Intolerant to some food | 1082 (61.8) | 806 (71.8) | 655 (58.1) | 406 (65.6) | 0.21 | 0.36 | 0.34 |
| 45 | Itchy eyes | 1013 (57.8) | 664 (59.2) | 756 (67.1) | 388 (62.7) | 0.58 | 0.53 | 0.61 |
| 22 | Constipation | 1002 (57.2) | 709 (63.2) | 710 (63.0) | 347 (56.1) | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.41 |
| 59 | Feeling out of breath for no reason | 989 (56.4) | 628 (56.0) | 739 (65.6) | 432 (69.8) | 0.70 | 0.63 | 0.56 |
| 39 | Racing heart | 959 (54.8) | 608 (54.2) | 688 (61.0) | 391 (63.2) | 0.61 | 0.57 | 0.49 |
| 1 | Swollen painful joints | 953 (54.5) | 582 (51.9) | 766 (68.0) | 355 (57.4) | 0.59 | 0.38 | 0.54 |
| 55 | Cramps in leg, foot or bottom | 947 (54.1) | 601 (53.5) | 743 (65.9) | 357 (57.6) | 0.68 | 0.59 | 0.66 |
| 32 | Very vivid dreams | 944 (53.9) | 608 (54.3) | 656 (58.2) | 381 (61.5) | 0.47 | 0.46 | 0.45 |
| 61 | Feeling very ill for no reason | 937 (53.4) | 579 (51.6) | 689 (61.2) | 446 (51.0) | 0.73 | 0.62 | 0.52 |
| 27 | Depression | 920 (52.6) | 603 (53.8) | 690 (61.2) | 330 (53.4) | 0.55 | 0.48 | 0.50 |
| 25 | Nausea for no reason | 917 (52.4) | 619 (55.1) | 625 (55.5) | 376 (60.7) | 0.57 | 0.60 | 0.56 |
| 12 | Fatigue increasing after a cold or sore throat | 910 (52.0) | 558 (49.8) | 691 (61.3) | 396 (64.0) | 0.61 | 0.42 | 0.37 |
| 21 | Diarrhoea | 874 (49.9) | 684 (61.0) | 518 (45.9) | 281 (45.4) | 0.09 | 0.38 | 0.34 |
| 42 | Blocked nose | 871 (49.7) | 575 (51.3) | 651 (57.8) | 336 (54.3) | 0.48 | 0.42 | 0.43 |
| 58 | Urinating two or more times per night | 854 (48.8) | 563 (50.1) | 639 (56.7) | 330 (53.3) | 0.46 | 0.41 | 0.46 |
| 41 | Face flushes | 848 (48.4) | 536 (47.7) | 638 (56.7) | 314 (50.8) | 0.54 | 0.44 | 0.51 |
| 40 | Hands tremble or shake | 838 (47.8) | 529 (47.2) | 655 (58.1) | 349 (56.4) | 0.69 | 0.63 | 0.59 |
| 31 | Ringing in ears | 823 (47.1) | 518 (46.2) | 603 (53.5) | 347 (56.1) | 0.45 | 0.37 | 0.41 |
| 24 | Heartburn | 819 (46.8) | 569 (50.7) | 579 (79.2) | 272 (43.9) | 0.39 | 0.39 | 0.44 |
| 43 | Running nose | 786 (44.9) | 533 (47.5) | 572 (50.8) | 296 (47.8) | 0.42 | 0.40 | 0.40 |
| 6 | Chest pain | 733 (41.8) | 475 (42.3) | 577 (51.2) | 293 (47.4) | 0.64 | 0.57 | 0.55 |
| 54 | Feeling faint | 658 (37.6) | 419 (37.4) | 461 (40.9) | 333 (53.8) | 0.62 | 0.60 | 0.52 |
| 52 | Twitching other than eyelid | 558 (31.9) | 349 (31.1) | 459 (40.7) | 265 (42.8) | 0.64 | 0.54 | 0.56 |
| 51 | Twitching of eyelid | 546 (31.3) | 348 (31.0) | 434 (38.4) | 238 (38.4) | 0.61 | 0.55 | 0.55 |
| 33 | Nightmares/night terrors | 480 (27.4) | 316 (28.2) | 353 (31.2) | 206 (33.2) | 0.53 | 0.52 | 0.55 |
| 60 | Double vision | 469 (26.8) | 297 (26.6) | 372 (33.0) | 233 (37.7) | 0.59 | 0.52 | 0.55 |
| 50 | Boils or pimples on face or body | 448 (25.6) | 294 (26.3) | 309 (27.4) | 196 (31.7) | 0.37 | 0.35 | 0.34 |
| 53 | Choking sensations | 409 (23.4) | 291 (25.9) | 413 (29.7) | 169 (27.3) | 0.58 | 0.53 | 0.57 |
| 49 | Skin rash | 365 (20.8) | 252 (22.5) | 266 (23.6) | 146 (23.6) | 0.44 | 0.41 | 0.41 |
| 46 | Head colds, sore throat, flu | 353 (20.2) | 234 (20.9) | 260 (23.0) | 191 (30.9) | 0.52 | 0.50 | 0.49 |
| 47 | Mouth ulcers, sores in mouth | 268 (15.3) | 177 (15.8) | 214 (19.0) | 108 (17.5) | 0.43 | 0.41 | 0.42 |
| 57 | Loss of voice | 259 (14.8) | 177 (15.8) | 214 (19.0) | 113 (18.3) | 0.49 | 0.41 | 0.40 |
| 48 | Cold sores on or near lips | 79 (4.5) | 54 (4.8) | 65 (5.8) | 34 (5.4) | 0.34 | 0.30 | 0.33 |
IBS: irritable bowel syndrome; FMS: fibromyalgia syndrome; CFS: chronic fatigue syndrome.
a
The groups refer to participants reporting a diagnosis of IBS, FMS and CFS, irrespective of whether the participant reports other additional functional disorders.