ME/CFS Alert with Llewellyn King and Deborah Waroff - Episode 120: Interview with Leonard A. Jason of Depaul University

[Kalliope]

Duration 25 minutes
Description:
Llewellyn King interviews Leonard A. Jason, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Community Research at DePaul University in Chicago. Thirty years ago, Jason was stricken with ME/CFS, after a bout of mononucleosis. When he began researching the disease in the 1990s, it was called the "Yuppie Flu." He does meticulous, case ascertainment research on ME/CFS. "How do we know that a case is a case?" he says. Jason cites some important research achievements. As a psychologist, he discusses the importance of community for ME/CFS patients in order to "break down the loneliness" from rejection by the health care system, friends, and even family.

 

[Kalliope]

Another good interview from Llewellyn King.

Towards the end professor Jason talks about housing/living communities for ME patients. I think that has been discussed on this forum a few times.

 

[Forbin]

Leonard Jason's 1999 prevalence figure for US adults 18 and over was 0.422%

The current US Population over 18 (2019 estimate) is 255,042,109

255,042,109 x 0.00422 = 1,076,277 current US cases over 18 meeting Jason's criteria.

This assumes the prevalence has remained steady since 1999, when the original study was done.

An event like COVID-19 could increase the prevalence, assuming some of the long-Covid cases are deemed indistinguishable from ME/CFS, but there would have to be a lot of cases to increase the "background" prevalence rate very significantly.

Having said that, the long-Covid cases are getting all the attention right now, which may spur research, even if it doesn't yet notice the million elephants in the room.