Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study
Aims and objectives To examine changes in patient-reported fatigue, over a twelve month period, in rheumatoid arthritis patients who commence biologic treatment, and to identify possible predictors for such changes. Background Fatigue is a burdensome symptom for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. D...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2019-04-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/6771.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797424192842366976 |
|---|---|
| author | Hege Selheim Rinke Clara Beate Gram Gjesdal Heidi Markussen Jörg Assmus Gerd Karin Natvig |
| author_facet | Hege Selheim Rinke Clara Beate Gram Gjesdal Heidi Markussen Jörg Assmus Gerd Karin Natvig |
| author_sort | Hege Selheim Rinke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aims and objectives To examine changes in patient-reported fatigue, over a twelve month period, in rheumatoid arthritis patients who commence biologic treatment, and to identify possible predictors for such changes. Background Fatigue is a burdensome symptom for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Despite biologics being effective in reducing disease activity, patients still report fatigue. Design A longitudinal observational study. Methods A total of 48 patients were enrolled in the study. Fatigue was measured by the Fatigue Severity Scale. Independent samples T-tests were used to test gender differences, and paired samples T-tests were used to measure differences between repeated measures. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were used to examine potential predictors for changes in fatigue, such as age, sex, Disease Activity Score 28, pain and physical and emotional well-being. Results Forty-seven patients completed the study. From baseline to 12-month follow-up, fatigue decreased significantly in both women and men. Analyses of predictors were performed step-wise, and the final model included sex and physical well-being. The results from this final step showed that female sex was the only significant predictor for changes in fatigue. Conclusion Patients commencing biologic therapy reported a significant reduction in fatigue. Female sex was a significant predictor of changes in fatigue. Relevance to clinical practice Despite improvements in pharmacological treatment, patients with rheumatoid arthritis still report fatigue. This is a multifaceted health problem encompassing personal and emotional factors in addition to the clinical factors directly connected to the disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:58:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89ca65603adc4607b1249d1ca4e7e818 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:58:43Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-89ca65603adc4607b1249d1ca4e7e8182023-12-03T00:50:11ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-04-017e677110.7717/peerj.6771Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal studyHege Selheim Rinke0Clara Beate Gram Gjesdal1Heidi Markussen2Jörg Assmus3Gerd Karin Natvig4Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayCentre for Clinical Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayAims and objectives To examine changes in patient-reported fatigue, over a twelve month period, in rheumatoid arthritis patients who commence biologic treatment, and to identify possible predictors for such changes. Background Fatigue is a burdensome symptom for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Despite biologics being effective in reducing disease activity, patients still report fatigue. Design A longitudinal observational study. Methods A total of 48 patients were enrolled in the study. Fatigue was measured by the Fatigue Severity Scale. Independent samples T-tests were used to test gender differences, and paired samples T-tests were used to measure differences between repeated measures. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were used to examine potential predictors for changes in fatigue, such as age, sex, Disease Activity Score 28, pain and physical and emotional well-being. Results Forty-seven patients completed the study. From baseline to 12-month follow-up, fatigue decreased significantly in both women and men. Analyses of predictors were performed step-wise, and the final model included sex and physical well-being. The results from this final step showed that female sex was the only significant predictor for changes in fatigue. Conclusion Patients commencing biologic therapy reported a significant reduction in fatigue. Female sex was a significant predictor of changes in fatigue. Relevance to clinical practice Despite improvements in pharmacological treatment, patients with rheumatoid arthritis still report fatigue. This is a multifaceted health problem encompassing personal and emotional factors in addition to the clinical factors directly connected to the disease.https://peerj.com/articles/6771.pdfFatigueGenderRheumatoid arthritisFatigue severity scaleBiologic therapy |
| spellingShingle | Hege Selheim Rinke Clara Beate Gram Gjesdal Heidi Markussen Jörg Assmus Gerd Karin Natvig Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study PeerJ Fatigue Gender Rheumatoid arthritis Fatigue severity scale Biologic therapy |
| title | Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study |
| title_full | Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study |
| title_fullStr | Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study |
| title_short | Patient-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy: a longitudinal study |
| title_sort | patient reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who commence biologic therapy a longitudinal study |
| topic | Fatigue Gender Rheumatoid arthritis Fatigue severity scale Biologic therapy |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/6771.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hegeselheimrinke patientreportedfatigueinpatientswithrheumatoidarthritiswhocommencebiologictherapyalongitudinalstudy AT clarabeategramgjesdal patientreportedfatigueinpatientswithrheumatoidarthritiswhocommencebiologictherapyalongitudinalstudy AT heidimarkussen patientreportedfatigueinpatientswithrheumatoidarthritiswhocommencebiologictherapyalongitudinalstudy AT jorgassmus patientreportedfatigueinpatientswithrheumatoidarthritiswhocommencebiologictherapyalongitudinalstudy AT gerdkarinnatvig patientreportedfatigueinpatientswithrheumatoidarthritiswhocommencebiologictherapyalongitudinalstudy |