Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior - Volume 7, Issue 3, 2019

Titles and abstracts for the journal, Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, Volume 7, Issue 3, 2019.

Volume 7, Issue 3, 2019

 * Mental fatigue impairs simple reaction time in non-athletes more than athletes"Abstract - Background: Cognitive enhancements are associated with persistent sport participation. The primary objective of this investigation was to assess mental fatigue during a prolonged simple reaction time task in athletes as compared to non-athletes. Methods: Forty men (20 athletes and 20 non-athletes; Age = 23.81 ± 2.28 years) completed a prolonged reaction time (RT) task of 51 min duration. The task included three periods of 17 min each, with no breaks, each period consisted of 200 RT trials. The participants’ ratings of mental fatigue were assessed with a modified visual analogue mood scale (VAMS) before and after the fatigue-inducing mental task. Results: Mental fatigue had a significant effect on both athletes and non-athletes (P ≤ .001). Athletes evidenced shorter RTs during the second and third periods of the prolonged reaction time task as compared with to non-athletes. Conclusion: This study suggested that athletes exhibit greater resistance to mental fatigue than non-athletes. It is therefore suggested that habitual exercise may reduce the negative effect of mental fatigue on a prolonged cognitive task."
 * Disability and risk factors for unemployment in chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparison with multiple sclerosis"Abstract - Aim: To compare disease impact on functioning in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: Fifty-four patients with CFS after giardiasis, 43 patients with moderate MS and 96 healthy controls were included. Comprehensive evaluation included the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and these neuropsychological tests: Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Selective Reminding Test and Symbol Digit Modalities Test. Long-term sickness disability was also registered. Results: Eighteen CFS patients were partly employed and among MS patients eight were partly and six fully employed. CFS and MS patients scored worse on the FSS and all subscores of SF-36 than controls (all p < .05). CFS patients scored worse (all p < .01) than patients with MS on these measurers: FSS, vitality subscale of the SF-36 and the HADS, whereas MS patients scored worse (p < .01) than CFS patients on most neuropsychological tests. Long-term sickness disability in CFS was associated with short illness duration, and the SF-36 physical function and general health subscales, whereas long-term sickness disability in MS was associated with FSS, PASAT, Symbol Digit Modalities, and the SF-36 physical function, bodily pain, role limitations due to physical problems, and social functioning subscales (all p ≤ .05). Conclusion: The main self-reported disabilities in CFS patients were associated with severe fatigue, low physical function and low social functioning, whereas disability in MS patients seems more multifactorial. Level of unemployment was higher in CFS patients compared to MS patients."
 * The DePaul Symptom Questionnaire-2: a validation study"Abstract - Background: The DePaul Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ) was developed to assess the symptomatology and case definition fulfillment of individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The questionnaire was recently revised to improve its psychometric properties, increase its diagnostic reliability, and assess symptoms required by case definitions. The resulting instrument was named the DSQ-2. Purpose: The current study sought to evaluate the utility and reliability of the new and revised items in the DSQ-2. Method: A cross-sectional sample of 399 adults with ME or CFS was recruited to complete the DSQ-2. Results: Descriptive analyses of the DSQ-2 suggest that the new and revised items enhance the instrument’s ability to assess certain symptom domains and evaluate recent case definitions. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis resulted in an eight-factor solution: post-exertional malaise, cognitive impairment, fever and flu, pain, sleep disruption, orthostatic intolerance, genitourinary issues, and temperature intolerance. The items within each factor demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alphas = .73 – .91). Conclusion: These analyses indicate that the DSQ-2 offers a more thorough and precise understanding ME and CFS symptomology and case definition fulfillment."
 * The links among workload, sleep quality, and fatigue in nurses: a structural equation modeling approach"Abstract - Background: Occupational fatigue of nurses can jeopardize health and safety of both nurses and patients. Therefore, it is important to discover the major factors related to fatigue in order to implement appropriate preventive programs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the links among workload, sleep quality, and fatigue. Methods: Workload, sleep quality, and occupational fatigue were measured using the NASA-Total Load Index (TLX), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI-20), respectively. Data associated with registered nurses from university hospitals located in Hamadan, Iran, were collected. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to determine the links among workload, sleep quality, and occupational fatigue. Results: One hundred and sixty-two nurses participated in this study. The mean age and experience were 32.1 (±7.5) and 8.1 (±6.8) years, respectively. The results of the SEM model showed that the direct effect of workload on fatigue was not significant (path coefficient = 0.15, p = 0.076), while workload had a significant effect on sleep quality (path coefficient=−0.25, p < 0.01) and sleep quality had a significant effect on fatigue (path coefficient=−0.35, p < 0.01). Therefore, the effect of workload on fatigue is fully mediated by sleep quality. Conclusions: As the effect of workload on fatigue was totally mediated by sleep quality, fatigue may be reduced by implementing sleep quality promotion programs."
 * Home-based pain and fatigue management in fibromyalgia: Feasibility of a new intervention"Abstract - Purpose: The purpose of this research was to test the feasibility of a new pain and fatigue self-management technique, bilateral stimulation and desensitization (BSD), in fibromyalgia (FM). Methods: This mixed methods study contained a pilot randomized trial and a qualitative feedback assessment about using BSD as obtained from participant interviews. Twenty-nine subjects were recruited. Participants were mailed a BSD demonstration video, duplicate written instructions, and an mp3 file of the audio BSD technique. Online diaries tracked pain, fatigue, and intervention use. Results: Post-enrollment attrition was 17.2%. Although pain and fatigue reduction were non-significant (p < .10), effect sizes were medium to large (d = .69–.72). In addition, pain catastrophizing was significantly reduced (p = .03; d = .80). Diary data showed significant reductions in fatigue and pain (p < .02) and participant usage of the BSD technique from 4.5 to 4.7 times/week. Twelve out of 14 (85.7%) interviewed subjects rated the program favorably for its convenience and effectiveness. Low-frequency side effects were reported for the BSD techniques of finger taps and sounds. Conclusion: This development study showed initial feasibility of a brief self-management intervention that may show potential to reduce pain and fatigue in FM."