Abstract
Background. Little is known about the course of poststroke fatigue. Objectives. To describe the course of poststroke fatigue in relation to the patient's level of physical functioning, depressive symptoms, and self-reported history of prestroke fatigue. Methods. A longitudinal study using structured face-to-face interviews, questionnaires, and patients' medical records. Data were collected from 95 patients in Norway with first-ever stroke. Fatigue was measured with the Fatigue Severity Scale 7 item version and assessed for change between the acute phase, six, 12, and 18 months after stroke using 2-way ANOVA repeated-measures analyses. Results. The patients' level of fatigue did not change over time. However, those who reported prestroke fatigue showed a relatively high level of fatigue over time in the poststroke period, while patients with no history of pre-stroke fatigue showed a stable course of relatively low fatigue over time. Conclusion. Studies on poststroke fatigue should control for the patient's pre-stroke fatigue level.
Highlights
Fatigue is one of the most common complaints after stroke [1, 2]
In a cross-sectional sample of stroke patients in the acute phase [6], we previously reported a higher proportion of cases of severe fatigue among women than among men, and that poststroke fatigue was related to current depressive symptoms, lower physical functioning in patients, and selfreport history of prestroke fatigue
Data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and fatigue were collected during the first interview, while data on sleep quality and depression were obtained during the second interview
Summary
Fatigue is one of the most common complaints after stroke [1, 2]. Despite this, little is known about the development of poststroke fatigue, its development over time and how this development is related to other clinical factors. A relationship between prestroke fatigue and poststroke fatigue has previously been reported in a cross-sectional study [5] 15 months after stroke (mean time after stroke) and in a study of stroke patients in the acute phase [6]. To describe the course of poststroke fatigue in relation to the patient’s level of physical functioning, depressive symptoms, and self-reported history of prestroke fatigue. The patients’ level of fatigue did not change over time. Those who reported prestroke fatigue showed a relatively high level of fatigue over time in the poststroke period, while patients with no history of pre-stroke fatigue showed a stable course of relatively low fatigue over time. Studies on poststroke fatigue should control for the patient’s pre-stroke fatigue level
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