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Prevalence of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease

Ternrud, Linda LU orcid ; Hlebowicz, Joanna LU ; Sandberg, Camilla LU ; Johansson, Bengt and Sparv, David LU (2022) In Cardiology in the Young 32(9). p.1432-1439
Abstract

Aims: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of the multidimensional phenomenon of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease. Background: Adults with congenital heart disease are a growing population, and patient-reported outcomes can provide valuable information about the patient's experience of living with CHD. Fatigue is a multidimensional phenomenon that can be described as an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion with a reduced capacity of mental and physical work. Fatigue can be observed clinically in adults with congenital heart disease, but the actual prevalence is unknown. Methods: Fatigue was assessed by the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory which enables the respondent to report the presence... (More)

Aims: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of the multidimensional phenomenon of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease. Background: Adults with congenital heart disease are a growing population, and patient-reported outcomes can provide valuable information about the patient's experience of living with CHD. Fatigue is a multidimensional phenomenon that can be described as an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion with a reduced capacity of mental and physical work. Fatigue can be observed clinically in adults with congenital heart disease, but the actual prevalence is unknown. Methods: Fatigue was assessed by the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory which enables the respondent to report the presence of fatigue according to five dimensions: "general fatigue,""physical fatigue,""mental fatigue,""reduced motivation,"and "reduced activity."The questionnaire was sent to 463 patients in Lund and Umeå. Four groups with complex CHD and two groups with moderately complex CHD were included. The reliability (internal consistency) of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory was tested for all dimensions and groups of diagnosis. Results: The response rate was 56.6% (n= 262). In patients with complex CHD, 40.0-59.4% reported severe to very severe general fatigue, and patients with a single ventricle reported the highest prevalence (59.4%). Among patients with complex CHD, 29.2-40.0% reported severe to very severe mental fatigue. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory had a high reliability measured with Cronbach's alpha. Conclusions: The study findings show a relatively high prevalence of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease, and general fatigue was the most prevalent. Further studies are needed regarding fatigue and its causes and consequences in adults with congenital heart disease. Relevance to clinical practice: The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory proved to be an instrument with high reliability and low internal loss, which suggests that the instrument may be suitable to use as a patient-reported outcome in the care of adults with congenital heart disease, preferably at repeated occasions.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adult congenital heart disease, experience, fatigue, multidimensional fatigue inventory-20, patient-reported outcome
in
Cardiology in the Young
volume
32
issue
9
pages
1432 - 1439
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85118605652
  • pmid:34714224
ISSN
1047-9511
DOI
10.1017/S1047951121004297
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.
id
927997ef-7eea-4c17-bfe9-ee3ae615adb0
date added to LUP
2021-12-02 11:07:09
date last changed
2024-06-15 21:51:05
@article{927997ef-7eea-4c17-bfe9-ee3ae615adb0,
  abstract     = {{<p>Aims: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of the multidimensional phenomenon of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease. Background: Adults with congenital heart disease are a growing population, and patient-reported outcomes can provide valuable information about the patient's experience of living with CHD. Fatigue is a multidimensional phenomenon that can be described as an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion with a reduced capacity of mental and physical work. Fatigue can be observed clinically in adults with congenital heart disease, but the actual prevalence is unknown. Methods: Fatigue was assessed by the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory which enables the respondent to report the presence of fatigue according to five dimensions: "general fatigue,""physical fatigue,""mental fatigue,""reduced motivation,"and "reduced activity."The questionnaire was sent to 463 patients in Lund and Umeå. Four groups with complex CHD and two groups with moderately complex CHD were included. The reliability (internal consistency) of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory was tested for all dimensions and groups of diagnosis. Results: The response rate was 56.6% (n= 262). In patients with complex CHD, 40.0-59.4% reported severe to very severe general fatigue, and patients with a single ventricle reported the highest prevalence (59.4%). Among patients with complex CHD, 29.2-40.0% reported severe to very severe mental fatigue. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory had a high reliability measured with Cronbach's alpha. Conclusions: The study findings show a relatively high prevalence of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease, and general fatigue was the most prevalent. Further studies are needed regarding fatigue and its causes and consequences in adults with congenital heart disease. Relevance to clinical practice: The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory proved to be an instrument with high reliability and low internal loss, which suggests that the instrument may be suitable to use as a patient-reported outcome in the care of adults with congenital heart disease, preferably at repeated occasions. </p>}},
  author       = {{Ternrud, Linda and Hlebowicz, Joanna and Sandberg, Camilla and Johansson, Bengt and Sparv, David}},
  issn         = {{1047-9511}},
  keywords     = {{Adult congenital heart disease; experience; fatigue; multidimensional fatigue inventory-20; patient-reported outcome}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1432--1439}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Cardiology in the Young}},
  title        = {{Prevalence of fatigue in adults with congenital heart disease}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1047951121004297}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/S1047951121004297}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}