1 Sleep Research Laboratory, E.P. Bradley Hospital, 1011 Veterans Memorial Parkway, East Providence, Rhode Island 02915
2 Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, E-733 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
To the Editor.
The report described a study of 15 adolescents with a complaint of chronic fatigue.1 In an effort to encompass all possible sources of chronic fatigue, evaluation of the patients included physical examinations, virologic tests, and psychological studies.
We believe that insufficient attention was given to assessing the sleep-wake system as a possible source of chronic fatigue in at least some of these adolescents. Certainly, inadequate sleep (which is common among adolescents, see Carskadon2) can result in symptoms of chronic fatigue.