Factors associated with fatigue among people who have returned to work after stroke: an exploratory study.
Anna Norlander, Ingrid Lindgren, Christina Brogårdh
PMID 38482970WHAT IT FOUND
Among people back at work one year after stroke, 43% reported fatigue.
The strongest links were to perceived memory and thinking problems, high job demands and low control at work. This survey shows associations, not causes.
Key findings
01Fatigue was reported by 37 (43%) participants, and 23 (26%) had severe fatigue.
02In the final combined model, memory and thinking (odds ratio 0.91), decision control (odds ratio 0.39) and quantitative job demands (odds ratio 2.18) were significantly associated with fatigue.
03Odds of fatigue were 11 times higher with cerebral infarction and 9 times higher with low self-efficacy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The survey was done at one time point, so it cannot show whether fatigue caused the factors or the factors caused fatigue. It only included people who had already returned to work, so it says nothing about people who remained off work. Fatigue was measured by self-report on one scale, which does not separate different types of fatigue. Many factors were also self-reported, so people who tend to report more problems may have reported both more fatigue and more impairment. The response rate was 62%, and non-responders may have been different, possibly more male, lower income or poorer health. The sample was small (87 participants), and the final model included several variables, so some findings may be unstable.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. No funding source is reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing job demands or increasing control at work will reduce post-stroke fatigue. This was a cross-sectional survey of people already working, so it shows associations at one time point, not causes or treatment effects.