Recovery
A systematic review of 14 studies of the outcome of untreated people with CFS found that "the median full recovery rate was 5% (range 0–31%) and the median proportion of patients who improved during follow-up was 39.5% (range 8–63%). Return to work at follow-up ranged from 8 to 30% in the three studies that considered this outcome." .... "In five studies, a worsening of symptoms during the period of follow-up was reported in between 5 and 20% of patients." A good outcome was associated with less fatigue severity at baseline, a sense of control over symptoms and not attributing illness to a physical cause. Another review found that children have a better prognosis than adults, with 54–94% having recovered by follow-up compared to less than 10% of adults returning to pre-morbid levels of functioning.
According to the CDC, delays in diagnosis and treatment can reduce the chance of improvement.
Deaths
Evidence linking CFS to early deaths is unclear. A systematic review of 14 studies of the outcome of CFS recorded 8 deaths, two were unrelated to CFS, one person died by suicide, and the circumstances of death of the other five were unclear. but another study of a much larger group with a longer follow-up found that mortality rates of individuals with CFS did not differ from the general population of the United States.
Further Reading
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"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"
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