Occurrence of fatigue and associated factors in disease-free breast cancer patients without depression.
OBJECTIVE
Studies on fatigue in disease-free breast cancer patients have consistently found a significant association between fatigue and depression; and some characteristics of this fatigue may be confused with and/or concealed by those of depression. To clarify the characteristics of fatigue in disease-free breast cancer patients, we examined the frequency of fatigue and associated factors in disease-free breast cancer patients without major depression.


METHODS
Seventy-nine ambulatory breast cancer patients without major depression who had been disease-free for more than 3 years since their surgery completed the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS), a multidimensional scale assessing cancer-related fatigue. Participants also completed the Short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQR) for assessing their personalities. Sociodemographic, physical, and treatment-related factors were also obtained by interview.


RESULTS
We found that 36.7% of the patients exhibited fatigue and that fatigue was significantly associated with neuroticism.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that a considerable number of disease-free breast cancer patients without major depression experience fatigue and that careful attention to those exhibiting high neuroticism may be of benefit in ameliorating their fatigue.
Sugawara
Yuriko
Y
Psycho-Oncology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, 277-8577 Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
Akechi
Tatsuo
T
Okuyama
Toru
T
Matsuoka
Yutaka
Y
Nakano
Tomohito
T
Inagaki
Masatoshi
M
Imoto
Shigeru
S
Fujimori
Maiko
M
Hosaka
Takashi
T
Uchitomi
Yosuke
Y
D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D003863:Depression; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires