Study Finds Frequent Fatigue Affects 1 in 6 Adults
A CDC National Center for Health Statistics survey documents how often U.S. adults report fatigue and which groups report it most.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Sleep Disorders
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Have you felt very tired or exhausted most days over the past three months?
The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics released a report showing that 71.5% of U.S. adults experienced fatigue on multiple days over a three-month period. About 1 in 6 adults reported frequent fatigue.
Why it matters
Fatigue is a common complaint linked to a range of daily functioning difficulties, and the survey shows it is widespread across the country. Understanding which groups report it most frequently can help inform where attention and support are directed.
The NCHS survey of about 27,000 adults in 2024 found that 19.5% of adults ages 18-34 and 12.9% of adults ages 65 and older reported frequent fatigue. Among adults with frequent fatigue, 69.6% also reported anxiety, 46.1% reported cognition difficulty and 45.0% reported symptoms of depression, though the survey did not identify causes.
The players
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
The NCHS is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting and analyzing national health statistics in the United States, operating within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC is the U.S. federal public health agency that publishes national health surveillance data and research, and it released this report.
The details
Women reported more frequent fatigue than men, and fatigue rates were highest in the South (17.7%) and Midwest (17.5%) compared with the Northeast (14.5%) and West (15.6%). The survey did not examine why these patterns exist.
Timeline
2024: NCHS conducted the survey of about 27,000 adults ages 18 and older.
November 2026: CDC released the report on adult fatigue.
Health Landscape
The NCHS survey program has long tracked self-reported health conditions across the U.S. population to identify group-level patterns. This fatigue report extends that population monitoring to a symptom that often accompanies anxiety and depression in survey responses.
Persistent fatigue that interferes with daily activities is worth raising with a health care provider, since the survey did not identify causes and fatigue can have many underlying factors. Tracking how often tiredness occurs over several weeks can help frame that conversation.
The takeaway
Fatigue is far more common than many people realize, with most U.S. adults reporting it on multiple days over three months. Noting how often it occurs can be a useful first step toward discussing it with a clinician.
Further reading
For more on related research, explore Sleep Disorders coverage across the United States.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Pantagraph.
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Have you felt very tired or exhausted most days over the past three months?
