Fatigue in the U.S. workforce: prevalence and implications for lost productive work time.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to estimate fatigue prevalence and associated health-related lost productive time (LPT) in U.S. workers.


METHODS
Fatigue prevalence, LPT due to fatigue, and LPT for any health-related reason (in hours and dollars) were measured in a national cross-sectional telephone survey of U.S. workers.


RESULTS
The 2-week period prevalence of fatigue was 37.9%. Of workers with fatigue, 65.7% reported health-related LPT compared with 26.4% of those without fatigue. Workers with fatigue cost employers 136.4 billion dollars annually in health-related LPT, an excess of 101.0 billion dollars compared with workers without fatigue. Fatigue frequently co-occurs with other conditions and, when present, is associated with a threefold increase, on average, in the proportion of workers with condition-specific LPT.


CONCLUSIONS
Fatigue is prevalent in the U.S. workforce. When occurring with other health conditions, it is associated with significantly more condition-specific LPT.
Ricci
Judith A
JA
Caremark, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031, USA. judi.ricci@caremark.com
Chee
Elsbeth
E
Lorandeau
Amy L
AL
Berger
Jan
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology