Yeast connection among 100 patients with chronic fatigue.

PURPOSE: Patients with the "yeast connection" are characterized by fatigue and multiple systemic symptoms. The purpose of our study was to compare patients with chronic fatigue who believed they had the yeast connection to patients with chronic fatigue without the yeast connection.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

One hundred consecutive patients with a chief complaint of chronic fatigue were evaluated in a specialty clinic setting at the University of Connecticut Health Center. A complete history was obtained from each patient, and a 168-item review of systems and a complete physical examination were performed.

RESULTS

Eight patients believed that their fatigue was due to chronic candidiasis. Of these eight, seven had psychiatric diagnoses that were judged to underlie their fatigue. Of the remaining 92 patients with chronic fatigue, 59 had underlying psychiatric diagnoses. We were unable to find historical, physical, or laboratory differences between chronic fatigue patients with or without the yeast connection.

CONCLUSION

From this study and a review of the literature, we are unable to identify findings that are specific for the yeast connection.