Power JD et al. – Participants with osteoarthritis (OA) reported fatigue and indicated that it had a substantial impact on their lives. Methods
The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the fatigue in OA pts
8 focus groups (28 men and 18 women; mean age 72.3y) with symptomatic hip or knee OA
Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included demographics, measures of OA severity (WOMAC), depression (CES-D) and fatigue (FACIT)
Results
Mean pain, disability, depression and fatigue scores were 8.7/20, 27.8/68, 15.4/60, and 30.9/52, respectively
Fatigue was described as exhaustion, being tired and 'coming up against a brick wall'
Participants generally perceived fatigue as different from sleepiness and distinguished physical from mental fatigue
Factors that increased fatigue included OA pain and pain medications, aging, various types of weather and poor sleep
Participants described fatigue as impacting physical function, and their ability to participate in social activities and to do household chores
Rest, exercise, and avoiding or getting assistance with activities were cited as ways of coping
Participants generally did not discuss their fatigue with anyone except their spouses
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