title: Predictors of fatigue in cancer patients before and after chemotherapy.
abstract: Fatigue is a debilitating and common condition in cancer patients. This study examined pretreatment predictors of fatigue before chemotherapy and also assessed whether these could prospectively predict fatigue posttreatment. A total of 100 patients completed questionnaires assessing psychological factors, physical activity and sleep. A subsample of 26 participants wore actigraphs to objectively assess sleep/wake and activity/rest. Fatigue was measured pretreatment and posttreatment and at follow-up several months later. Greater pretreatment pain, depression, stress and sleep disruption significantly predicted greater fatigue before chemotherapy, explaining 55 percent of the variance. Pretreatment fatigue significantly predicted post-treatment fatigue. No other significant prospective predictors of posttreatment fatigue emerged.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland pertlm@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Maria M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pertl
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hevey
authors.affiliation: Psychological Medicine Service, St. James's Hospital, Ireland.
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Collier
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lambe
authors.affiliation: Psychological Medicine Service, St. James's Hospital, Ireland.
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: O'Dwyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: cancer; health care; health psychology; illness; outcomes; psychological distress; side effects