Causes

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Most of the time fatigue can be traced to one or more of your habits or routines, particularly lack of exercise. It's also commonly related to depression. On occasion, fatigue is a symptom of other underlying conditions that require medical treatment.

Lifestyle factors

Taking an honest inventory of things that might be responsible for your fatigue is often the first step toward relief. Fatigue may be related to:

  1. Use of alcohol or drugs
  2. Excess physical activity
  3. Jet lag disorder
  4. Lack of physical activity
  5. Lack of sleep
  6. Medications, such as antihistamines, cough medicines
  7. Unhealthy eating habits

Conditions

Unrelenting exhaustion may be a sign of a condition or an effect of the drugs or therapies used to treat it, such as:

  1. Acute liver failure
  2. Anemia
  3. Anxiety disorders
  4. Cancer
  5. Chronic fatigue syndrome
  6. Chronic infection or inflammation
  7. Chronic kidney disease
  8. Concussion
  9. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) exacerbation — worsening of symptoms
  10. Depression (major depressive disorder)
  11. Diabetes
  12. Emphysema
  13. Fibromyalgia
  14. Grief
  15. Heart disease
  16. Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
  17. Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
  18. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  19. Medications and treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, pain drugs, heart drugs and antidepressants
  20. Multiple sclerosis
  21. Obesity
  22. Pain that's persistent
  23. Sleep apnea
  24. Stress
  25. Traumatic brain injury

Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.

Jan. 11, 2018