Psychometric Properties of Three Instruments to Measure Fatigue With Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of three questionnaires to measure fatigue with myocardial infarction. The Fatigue Symptom Inventory Interference Scale, Profile of Moods States Fatigue subscale (POMS-F), and Short Form 36 (SF-36) Vitality Scale were completed during hospitalization (n = 116) and 30 days after hospital admission (n = 49). Moderate to strong correlations were found among each of these fatigue scales and between each fatigue scale and measures of other variables to include vigor, depressed mood, anxiety, and physical functioning. POMS-F scores decreased significantly at Time 2, but this decline in fatigue was not validated on the other fatigue scales. Patients’ Time 1 scores reflected significantly more fatigue compared to published scores for healthy adults. The ability to discriminate between groups suggests that the instruments may be useful for identifying patients with cardiovascular risk factors who report clinically significant fatigue.

Anger and Health in Dementia Caregivers: Exploring the Mediation Effect of Optimism

“…Hence, this study adds to the previous dementia caregiving research a potential way of explaining previous results, mostly found in other populations (e.g. Chida & Steptoe, ; Fink et al, ) and also in caregivers (Vitaliano, Scanlan, Krenz, & Fujimoto, ) concerning the impact of anger on caregivers' physical health, via its influence on caregivers' optimism. It may well be that angry feelings lead to a reduction in one's sense of optimism regarding one's life and circumstances (Puskar et al, ; Remor et al, ; Shifren & Hooker, ), including expectations and cognitions about one's illnesses, which in turn are related to perceived decline in vitality (Fink et al, ).…”

“…Chida & Steptoe, ; Fink et al, ) and also in caregivers (Vitaliano, Scanlan, Krenz, & Fujimoto, ) concerning the impact of anger on caregivers' physical health, via its influence on caregivers' optimism. It may well be that angry feelings lead to a reduction in one's sense of optimism regarding one's life and circumstances (Puskar et al, ; Remor et al, ; Shifren & Hooker, ), including expectations and cognitions about one's illnesses, which in turn are related to perceived decline in vitality (Fink et al, ). However, the cross‐sectional nature of the sample precludes us from making any causal direction inferences, and future longitudinal or experimental studies are needed to replicate these data.…”

“…The SF‐36 Health Survey (SF‐36, Ware et al, ) measures generic health concepts relevant across age groups. The four‐item SF‐36 Vitality Scale is a widely used measure of self‐reported health‐related quality of life (Fink et al, ). Using a Likert‐type scale, patients report their agreement with two positively scored items (‘Did you feel full of life’?…”

“…In this regard, some studies found that perceptions of self‐rated health typically decline with caregiving time (Pinquart & Sörensen, ), and that vitality is the most important predictor of change in self‐rated health (Burns, Anstey, & Sargent‐Cox, ). Vitality reflects energy level, vigour and tirelessness, which are useful for coping with prolonged and laborious effort (Fink et al, ; Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, ). This positive sense of aliveness and strength refers to more than merely being active, aroused or even having stored calorific reserves.…”

“…The results of a recent meta‐analysis suggest a harmful association between anger and coronary heart disease not only in patients with coronary health problems but also in healthy populations (Chida & Steptoe, ). Furthermore, research has linked anger to other negative health outcomes, including lower vitality (Fink et al, ), higher intensity of perception of physical symptoms (Remor, Amorós, & Carrobles, ), higher blood pressure levels (Schum, Jorgensen, Verhaeghen, Sauro, & Thibodeau, ), greater body mass index (Scherwitz, Perkins, Chesney, & Hughes, ), greater fat and calorific intake (Scherwitz et al, ) and higher glucose and insulin levels (Raikkonen, Keltikangas, & Hautanen, ). Finally, anger has also been found to influence people's social information processing (Bodenhausen, Sheppard, & Kramer, ) and decision‐making (Lerner & Tiedens, ).…”