The aim of this study was to describe how different dimensions of fatigue change over a long period of time, 13 years, in women with persistent low back pain.
Women with PLBP who sought primary care were examined with tests of physical capacity and questionnaires on self-reported fatigue and pain in a longitudinal cohort study. Dimensions of fatigue were measured with Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) at baseline, after two years, and after 13 years. MFI-20 measures five different dimensions of fatigue; general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue.
Eighty-seven women completed the 13-year follow up, mean age 46 (SD 11) years, mean duration of PLBP 9.8 (SD 8.9) years. Preliminary results regarding change in different dimensions of fatigue show that the dimensions reduced activity and mental fatigue improved significantly (p0.05), improvement in the dimensions general fatigue and physical fatigue was close to significant and the dimension reduced motivation did not improve significantly over a period of 13 years (actual numbers will be presented in graphs in poster presentation).
Dimensions of fatigue connected to activity and mental components improved significantly over time and improvement was also seen in dimensions connected to general and physical fatigue. However, the dimension connected to reduced motivation did not seem to improve significantly over a period of 13 years.
Fatigue is a key symptom in persistent pain and is sometimes regarded as being more disabling than the pain itself. Research is scarce regarding the evolution of different dimensions of fatigue over a long period of time. The results from this study can contribute to the understanding of how aspects of fatigue in women with PLBP change during a period of 13 years and may aid in the development of treatment and research studies aiming to improve fatigue, pain, and disability in women with PLBP.
fatigue
long-term follow-up
