Fatigue in an older population

OBJECTIVES: Fatigue is a common symptom that has not been studied well in the older populations. The purpose of this pilot study was to ex-amine the epidemiology of fatigue symptoms in relation to demographic and medical characteristics of older patients in a long-term care setting. DESIGN: A cross-sectional interviewer-assisted survey. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: A total of 199 ambulatory older residents of a single residential care facility. MEASUREMENTS: Along with medical and demographic characteristics, the survey included mental status (Folstein), activities of daily living (Katz and Lawton), depression (Yesavage GDS), a 3-minute walk, a 7-item pain scale, and the modified Piper Fatigue Scale. RESULTS: One-hundred ninety-nine (65%) of 308 potential subjects completed the study (mean age 88 pears, 82% female). Of these 199 subjects, 195 (98%) reported some fatigue symptoms (median duration 44 weeks). Significant (P < .0005) relationships were found between fatigue and GDS (r = 0.57), S-minute walk (r = -0.29), Lawton IADLs (r = 0.31), pain (r = 0.36), and number of medications (r = 0.26). No significant relationships were found between fatigue and age, sex, Folstein score, or number of medical diagnoses. Multivariate regression analysis identified GDS, pain, number of medications and 3-minute walk as significant predictors of fatigue intensity (multiple R = 0.68, r(2) = 0.46, P < .02). CONCLUSIONS: Fatigue is a symptom often found among older residents of a residential facility and has important implications fur quality of life. Fatigue is poorly recognized and probably undertreated in older people.