Apple CEO Steve Jobs today sent out an e-mail to all Apple employees acknowledging that his health issues are more complex than he’d thought earlier.

Jobs is now taking medical leave of absence from Apple for five months, i.e. until the end of June.

No details were provided on the nature of Jobs’ health problems.

Here’s Jobs’ note to Apple employees:

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

One of the more interesting characters in the information technology and digital media worlds, Steve Jobs is often credited with spearheading the wild success of the iPod and the iPhone.