On the relation between dimensions of fatigue and depression in adolescents and young adults with acquired brain injury

ABSTRACT

Complaints of fatigue following acquired brain injury (ABI) are often associated with depression. However, the nature of this relationship is unclear; furthermore, research among young people with ABI is limited. The objective of this cross-sectional study was (1) to investigate levels of depression in young outpatients with ABI (15–30 years old) and (2) to determine how different dimensions of fatigue relate to depression. Five dimensions of fatigue were assessed with the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20), and depression was assessed with the Major Depression Inventory (MDI). Mann–Whitney U-tests and multiple regression analyses were conducted. The ABI group (n = 105), on average 23.7 years old (SD = 4.2) and 31 months post-injury (SD = 61), had elevated levels of fatigue and depression compared to a convenience sample of 160 healthy controls, all p’s < .001. In multivariate analyses, the predominantly mental dimensions of fatigue, General Fatigue, Mental Fatigue, and Reduced Motivation, were independently associated with MDI, all p’s < .01, while the physical dimensions, Physical Fatigue and Reduced Activity, were not. Distinctions within the concept of fatigue may be important in relation to depression, and future research could benefit from adopting a multidimensional approach in the development of more targeted and effective treatments of fatigue and depression following ABI.

KEYWORDS:

• Fatigue
• depression
• Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory
• acquired brain injury
• young adults

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Lisa M. Manderino, M.A., representing the INS ILC Research and Editing Consulting Program. Lisa M. Manderino provided valuable language editing of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Frederik L. Dornonville de la Cour http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2905-557X

Anne Norup http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5598-6116

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Danish Ministry of Health.