![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
Abstract
Objective: Persistent fatigue and depressive symptoms are both highly prevalent among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) as well as breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to assess and directly compare perceptions of fatigue as highly interfering in one's daily functioning in both patient populations to better understand their relationships with depressed mood. Methods: Participants were 95 female CFS/ME patients and 67 females who were approximately five years post-treatment for stage 0–III breast cancer presenting with clinically elevated fatigue severity. Self-report measures were obtained on participants' fatigue-related interference in daily functioning and fatigue severity as well as depressed mood. Hierarchical regression was used to test effects controlling for relevant demographic, psychosocial, and medical covariates. Results: CFS/ME patients endorsed greater depressed mood and fatigue interference than did fatigued breast cancer survivors, p < .001. These factors were significantly positively correlated among CFS/ME patients (β = .36, p < .001), but not among the fatigued breast cancer survivors (β = .18, p = .19). Conclusions: CFS/ME patients reported elevated fatigue symptoms and depression relative to fatigued breast cancer survivors. In the former group, greater depressed mood was highly and significantly associated with greater fatigue-related inference in daily activities. Potential targets for cognitive behavioral interventions are discussed.
Notes
1 The original FSI presents response options on a scale from 0 (not at all fatigued/no interference) to 10 (as fatigued as I could be/extreme interference). The CFS/ME sample was administered the correct range of response options (0 to 10). However, the breast cancer survivors were presented with response options from 1 (not at all fatigued/no interference) to 9 (as fatigued as I could be/extreme interference).
In order to make meaningful comparisons between these samples, we arrived at a method to transform the breast cancer survivor sample's FSI data to convert item scores from a scale of 1–9 to the correct scale of 0–10 by conducting a linear conversion.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Daniel L. Hall
Daniel L. Hall is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami.
Michael H. Antoni
Michael H. Antoni is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Emily G. Lattie
Emily G. Lattie is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami and health psychology resident at Rush University Medical Center.
Devika R. Jutagir
Devika R. Jutagir is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami.
Sara J. Czaja
Sara J. Czaja is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Dolores Perdomo
Dolores Perdomo is a senior research associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Suzanne C. Lechner
Suzanne C. Lechner is a research associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Jamie M. Stagl
Jamie M. Stagl is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami and clinical fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Laura C. Bouchard
Laura C. Bouchard is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami.
Lisa M. Gudenkauf
Lisa M. Gudenkauf is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami.
Lara Traeger
Lara Traeger is a staff psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Mary Ann Fletcher
Mary Ann Fletcher is a Professor at the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine at Nova Southeastern University.
Nancy G. Klimas
Nancy G. Klimas is the chair of the Department of Clinical Immunology and director of the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine at Nova Southeastern University.