Korean J Fam Med.  2016 Mar;37(2):78-84. 10.4082/kjfm.2016.37.2.78.

Relationship between Changes in Fatigue and Exercise by Follow-Up Period

• Oh SM
• Bae WK
• Choo SR
• Kim HT
• Kim HH
• Lee SH
• Jeong HS

• KMID: 2160979
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2016.37.2.78

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Fatigue is one of the most common presenting symptoms in primary care in Korea. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of exercise intervention on the severity of fatigue of unknown medical cause during a period of follow-up.
METHODS
We used the data collected from an outpatient fatigue clinic in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. The study was conducted from March 3, 2010 to May 31, 2014. We measured the body mass index of each patient and evaluated variables including lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, and regular exercise), quality of sleep, anxiety, depression, stress severity, and fatigue severity using questionnaires. A total of 152 participants who completed questionnaires to determine changes in fatigue severity and the effect of exercise for each period were evaluated. We used univariate analysis to verify possible factors related to fatigue and then conducted multivariate analysis using these factors and the literature.
RESULTS
Of 130 patients with the complaint of chronic fatigue for over 6 months, over 90 percent reported moderate or severe fatigue on the Fatigue Severity Scale and Brief Fatigue Inventory questionnaires. The fatigue severity scores decreased and fatigue improved over time. The amount of exercise was increased in the first month, but decreased afterwards.
CONCLUSION
There was no significant relationship between changes in the amount of exercise and fatigue severity in each follow-up period. Randomized controlled trials and a cohort study with a more detailed exercise protocol in an outpatient setting are needed in the future.

Keyword

Fatigue; Physical Activity; Life Style; Metabolic Equivalent

MeSH Terms

Alcohol Drinking
Anxiety
Body Mass Index
Cohort Studies
Depression
Fatigue*
Follow-Up Studies*
Humans
Korea
Life Style
Metabolic Equivalent
Motor Activity
Multivariate Analysis
Outpatients
Primary Health Care
Seoul