Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Volume 72, Issue 1, Pages 115-120Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glw173
Keywords
Fatigue; Frail; Physical activity; Exertion
Categories
Funding
- VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Branch
- National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases [A6122-R, K12 HD055929, 1K01AR064275]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Fatigue in older adults is associated with functional decline and reduced participation in daily life; however, it is not well characterized. Examining fatigue within activity performance, or fatigability, is a recommended approach to begin to understand fatigue and its underlying mechanisms. This study examined the construct validity of lab-based measures of fatigability and compared these measures with fatigability in daily life (termed ecological fatigability). Methods: Participants with osteoarthritis and fatigue (n = 163) underwent laboratory assessments, completed questionnaires, and wore accelerometers for 7 days while tracking symptoms and behaviors. Lab-based fatigability measures were quantified using the 6-minute walk test. Perceived fatigability was assessed by asking participants before and after the test to report: (i) fatigue severity and (ii) perceived exertion. Performance fatigability was calculated using change in walking speed divided by total distance walked. Ecological fatigability was calculated from the 7-day assessment in which fatigue severity was reported five times a day and physical activity was continuously measured. Additional ecological measures (eg, self-pacing) were examined. Results: Lab-based perceived and performance fatigability measures were highly inter-correlated, moderately correlated with gait speed and metabolic measures, and weakly correlated with physical activity. Although ecological fatigability was weakly correlated with lab-based measures, participants with high fatigability on lab-based measures demonstrated more self-pacing behaviors than participants with low fatigability. Conclusion: Lab-based fatigability measures are related to physical capacity measured both in the lab and daily life. Lab-based fatigability measures provide important information regarding daily life fatigability useful for future intervention development.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available