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Which breathlessness dimensions associate most strongly with fatigue?-The populationbased VASCOL study of elderly men

Lucas, Cristea LU ; Max, Olsson LU orcid ; Sandberg, Jacob LU orcid ; Kochovska, Slavica ; Currow, David and Ekström, Magnus LU orcid (2023) In PLoS ONE 18(12 December).
Abstract

Background Breathlessness and fatigue are common symptoms in older people. We aimed to evaluate how different breathlessness dimensions (overall intensity, unpleasantness, sensory descriptors, emotional responses) were associated with fatigue in elderly men. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based VAScular disease and Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (VASCOL) study of 73-year old men. Breathlessness dimensions were assessed using the Dyspnoea-12 (D-12), Multidimensional Dyspnoea Profile (MDP), and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. Fatigue was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) questionnaire. Clinically relevant fatigue was defined as... (More)

Background Breathlessness and fatigue are common symptoms in older people. We aimed to evaluate how different breathlessness dimensions (overall intensity, unpleasantness, sensory descriptors, emotional responses) were associated with fatigue in elderly men. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based VAScular disease and Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (VASCOL) study of 73-year old men. Breathlessness dimensions were assessed using the Dyspnoea-12 (D-12), Multidimensional Dyspnoea Profile (MDP), and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. Fatigue was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) questionnaire. Clinically relevant fatigue was defined as FACIT-F≤ 30 units. Scores were compared standardized as z-scores and analysed using linear regression, adjusted for body mass index, smoking, depression, cancer, sleep apnoea, prior cardiac surgery, respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Results Of 677 participants, 11.7% had clinically relevant fatigue. Higher breathlessness scores were associated with having worse fatigue; for D-12 total, -0.35 ([95% CI] -0.41 to -0.30) and for MDP A1, -0.24 (-0.30 to -0.18). Associations were similar across all the evaluated breathlessness dimensions even when adjusting for the potential confounders. Conclusion Breathlessness assessed using D-12 and MDP was associated with worse fatigue in elderly men, similarly across different breathlessness dimensions.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
18
issue
12 December
article number
e0296016
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:38117831
  • scopus:85180295013
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0296016
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
772ef248-833a-4cec-971c-1005bd25c190
date added to LUP
2024-01-08 15:27:11
date last changed
2024-04-23 11:03:43
@article{772ef248-833a-4cec-971c-1005bd25c190,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background Breathlessness and fatigue are common symptoms in older people. We aimed to evaluate how different breathlessness dimensions (overall intensity, unpleasantness, sensory descriptors, emotional responses) were associated with fatigue in elderly men. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based VAScular disease and Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (VASCOL) study of 73-year old men. Breathlessness dimensions were assessed using the Dyspnoea-12 (D-12), Multidimensional Dyspnoea Profile (MDP), and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. Fatigue was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) questionnaire. Clinically relevant fatigue was defined as FACIT-F≤ 30 units. Scores were compared standardized as z-scores and analysed using linear regression, adjusted for body mass index, smoking, depression, cancer, sleep apnoea, prior cardiac surgery, respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Results Of 677 participants, 11.7% had clinically relevant fatigue. Higher breathlessness scores were associated with having worse fatigue; for D-12 total, -0.35 ([95% CI] -0.41 to -0.30) and for MDP A1, -0.24 (-0.30 to -0.18). Associations were similar across all the evaluated breathlessness dimensions even when adjusting for the potential confounders. Conclusion Breathlessness assessed using D-12 and MDP was associated with worse fatigue in elderly men, similarly across different breathlessness dimensions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lucas, Cristea and Max, Olsson and Sandberg, Jacob and Kochovska, Slavica and Currow, David and Ekström, Magnus}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12 December}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Which breathlessness dimensions associate most strongly with fatigue?-The populationbased VASCOL study of elderly men}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296016}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0296016}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}