The Feeling of Fatigue—Fatigue Severity by Unidimensional Versus Composite Questionnaires

Abstract

The authors' purpose in this study was to compare the perception of fatigue severity as measured by different fatigue questionnaires. The authors evaluated 3 groups of patients in a cross-sectional study: chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, n = 20), non-CFS fatigue (n = 20), and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF n = 25). In addition, the authors tracked 7 patients with CFS longitudinally for severity of fatigue. The severity of fatigue-related symptoms was assessed with 2 questionnaires: the unidimensional Chalder's Fatigue Severity Scale (CH) and the composite Fatigue Impact Scale (FI) which has 3 subscales--cognitive, physical, and social--and a total score. In the cross-sectional study, correlations between CH and FI cognitive scores were r = .78 (p < .0001), CH versus FI physical scores r = .603 (p < .0001), CH versus FI social scores r = .66 (p < .0001), and CH versus FI total scores r = .74 (p < .0001). In the longitudinal survey of CFS patients, the authors compared 30 questionnaires revealing correlations of CH versus FI cognitive scores r = .64 (p = .0004), CH versus FI physical r = .68 (p = .0001), CH versus FI social r = .87 (p < .0001), and CH versus FI total r = .90 (p < .0001). Fatigue severity as assessed by the unidimensional CH scale and the composite FI scale is comparable. The simple CH scale may be adequate for the assessment of the feeling of fatigue, in general, and for monitoring the severity of fatigue in CFS, in particular.

Mediators and moderators of the stressor–fatigue relationship in nonclinical samples

“…Although the FIS was developed for use in clinical populations (e.g., MS and hypertensive patients) [43,45], it has also been used to evaluate fatigue in healthy community controls (e.g., Refs. [3,46]) and university students [6]. In this study, the three subscales and total scale had Cronbach's alpha ranging from .90 to .97.…”

Work factors as predictors of persistent fatigue: a prospective study of nurses’ aides

“…29 In a recent clinical study, Naschitz et al found strong correlations between an unidimensional fatigue scale and scales measuring the cognitive, physical, and social impact of fatigue. 34 The validity and reliability of self-reported work factors have been explored and discussed by several authors. [35][36][37] Some authors have found high correlations 35 and others have found fair or modest correlations 36 37 between ''objective'' and self-reported information on psychosocial work environment.…”

Stressful Life-Events and Fatigue in a Nonclinical Sample

“…Internal consistency for the scale is high with a Cronbach alpha of 0.98 (Fisk et al, 1994). The FIS has previously been used to evaluate fatigue in healthy adults (LaChapelle and Finlayson, 1998;Naschitz et al, 2004).…”