Title of article :
Disease Activity, Occupational Participation, and Quality of Life for Individuals with and without Severe Fatigue in Ankylosing Spondylitis
Author/Authors :
Connolly , Deirdre Discipline of Occupational Therapy - School of Medicine - Trinity College Dublin - Dublin Ireland , Fitzpatrick, Clodagh Discipline of Occupational Therapy - School of Medicine - Trinity College Dublin - Dublin Ireland , O’Shea, Finbar Rheumatology Department - Dublin , Ireland
Abstract :
Fatigueisoneofthemostfrequentlyreportedsymptomsbyindividualswithankylosingspondylitis.However,itis
oftenoverlookedclinicallyandinresearch.Literatureresearchingtheimpactofseverefatigueonoccupationalparticipationin
ankylosingspondylitisislimited.Therefore,theaimofthisresearchwastoexploretheimpactofseverefatigueonoccupational
participation,diseaseactivity,andqualityoflifeinpeoplewithAS.Methods.Asequentialexploratorymixedmethodstudy
designwasusedinthisstudy.Self-reportedquestionnairesgatheredquantitativedatawhichwereanalysedwithdescriptiveand
inferentialstatistics.Qualitativedataweregeneratedthroughsemistructuredinterviewsandanalysedusingacontentanalysis
approach.Results.FiftyindividualswithAScompletedallstudyquestionnaires.Participantshadameanageof46.5years;72%
weremenwithameandiseasedurationof14.5years.Highfatiguewasreportedby38%ofparticipantsusingthe
MultidimensionalAssessmentofFatigue(MAF).Fatiguewassignificantlyassociatedwithloweroccupationalparticipation
(p=0018),higherdiseaseactivity(p<0001),higherpain(p<0001),reducedphysicalcapacity(p=0018),lowerqualityoflife
(p<0001),andlowerglobalwell-being(p<0001).Thereweresignificantdifferencesbetweenthosewithlowandhighfatigue
levelsforoccupationalparticipation(p=0007),diseaseactivity(p<0001),physicalcapacity(p=0015),pain(p<0001),and
qualityoflife(p<0001).Participantsdiscussedtheimpactoffatigueonproductivityandleisure.Theyalsodiscussedarangeof
strategiesformanagingtheirfatiguebutreportedalackofeducationfromhealthprofessionalsonmanagingthissymptom.
Conclusion.Severefatigueisaprevalentsymptomforindividualswithankylosingspondylitisandresultsinreduced
occupationalparticipationinproductivityandleisure.Earlyfatiguemanagementinterventionsmayreducetheoccupational
participationimpactofthissymptomforindividualswithankylosingspondylitis.
Keywords :
Disease Activity , Occupational Participation , Quality of Life , Individuals , Severe Fatigue , Ankylosing Spondylitis , MAF
Journal title :
Occupational Therapy International
