New journal aims to address fatigue in medical illnesses and specific environmental conditions

With peer-reviewed articles on fatigue having increased 90% over the past decade ­- and nearly 1,000 papers on the topic published in 2011 alone ­- the time is right for Routledge's new journal, Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior.

Sponsored by the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME) and supported by a distinguished multidisciplinary editorial board of international scientists and clinicians, Fatigue is the first biomedical and behavioral journal focused on fatigue. Editor Fred Friedberg says, 'We believe that high-quality contributions in the area of fatigue are more likely to be submitted to a journal that clearly recognizes the importance of fatigue as a field of scientific study as well as an important clinical concern.'

The aim of the new journal is to address the symptom of fatigue in medical illnesses, behavioral disorders and specific environmental conditions. These three broad domains are intended to advance interdisciplinary research on causation, pathophysiology, assessment and treatment.

Topics covered by the journal include: fatigue in diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis (MS), pain conditions, mood disorders and circulatory diseases. Friedberg and his editorial board will also consider papers on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), fibromyalgia, fatigue in sleep, aging, exercise, sport and occupations. As Friedberg notes, 'More generally Fatigue will publish on the biology, physiology and psychosocial aspects of fatigue as well as assessment and treatment.'

Fatigue will also target both science and practice. Fatigue science focuses on the study of acute and chronic fatigue states in healthy and ill populations. Fatigue practice refers to clinicians, largely physicians, psychologists, physical and occupational therapists and nurses who diagnose, evaluate, treat and provide clinical care for patients with a wide range of fatiguing illnesses and conditions.

The inaugural issue of Fatigue has just been published, and has already attracted attention on Internet fora. In addition to overviews of the subject and the state of current research, the issue includes papers on topics as far-ranging as energy-conservation interventions for patients with CFS/ME, fatigue and circadian-activity rhythms in breast-cancer patients, fatigue and related issues in women with (and without) fibromyalgia, fatigue management in the workplace and fatigue in US railroad workers in safety-sensitive positions.

Fatigue will be published quarterly, in online and hard-copy versions. Significantly, there are no submission fees for authors, who are encouraged to submit original research papers, literature reviews, data-based theoretical papers, short reports, qualitative studies, innovative case studies, expert interactive commentary and letters to the editor.

Source: http://www.tandfonline.com/