FATIGUE AND FATIGABILITY SEVERITY MEASURES IN INDIVIDUALS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

M.D. Alharbi¹, B.A. Baattaiah¹, F. Khan¹

¹King Abdulaziz University, Department of Physical Therapy, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune disease that contributes substantially to decline in activities of daily living. Of the many early symptoms of MS, fatigue has been shown to be the most commonly reported symptom by at least 80% of individuals with MS. Yet, little is known concerning examining fatigue within activity performance, or “fatigability”.

Purpose: To compare fatigue and fatigability severity measures in individuals with MS and age-and gender-matched controls (HC).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare fatigue and fatigability between the patients with MS and HC two groups. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Fatigability severity measures were assessed following a standardized 10-minute walk test (10 MWT) at self-selected pace. Perceived fatigability severity was calculated at the completion of walking by dividing participants perceived changes in fatigue by the total distance walked in meters. Performance fatigability severity was calculated as the change in walking velocity (at 2.5 and 10 minutes), divided by the total distance walked. The student’s t-test was used to compare the mean differences of the study variables between the two groups.

Results: A total of 60 participants were included in the analysis (30 individuals with MS and 30 HC). FSS was statistically significantly higher in individuals with MS compared to HC, the MeanDifference (-1.50 ± 0.39) (p = 0.0004). No significant differences were observed between MS and HC in perceived and performance fatigability (p = .13 andp = .11, respectively). Despite this, results showed that average walking speed at 10 minutes was reduced in MS patients than HC, the MeanDifference (.114 ±.056 m/sec) (p = 0.047). Furthermore, HC covered more distance in 10MWT compared to MS (68.84 ±34.06-meter, p = 0.047).

Conclusions: The results between groups were reflected in higher subjective fatigue, slower average speed, and less distance walked in 10MWT in individuals with MS compared to HC. The findings of this study may provide useful insights into the importance of including both the self-reported feeling of fatigue and the performance fatigability during sustained motor tasks.

Implications: Understanding fatigue and fatigability among MS patients adds to the fundamental knowledge pertaining to the therapeutic strategies to improve functions and overall quality of life for this population. Future research is encouraged to determine how exercise interventions affects measurements of fatigability among individuals with MS.

Funding acknowledgements: This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Keywords:
Multiple Sclerosis
Fatigue
Fatigability

Topics:
Neurology: multiple sclerosis

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: King Abdulaziz University

Committee: the Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research

Ethics number: (01-CEGMR-Bioeth-2022)