Longitudinal Associations Between Fatigue and Perceived Work Ability in Cancer Survivors.

The study had no control group, so it cannot show that reducing fatigue caused work ability to improve or that any part of the intervention worked. All participants received both vocational guidance and exercise training, so the contribution of either component cannot be separated. Only 89 of 95 participants who completed the original intervention were analysed. Follow-up assessments were complete for 83, 75, 67, and 65 of 89 participants at the four time points. The sample was mostly female and mostly people with breast cancer, so it may not apply to other cancer survivors. Individual fatigue and work ability trajectories were unsteady, so average change may not describe a given patient. A response shift in how patients rate fatigue could have biased early estimates. No confounders such as overall health, functional capacity, or sickness absence were included. Perceived physical job demands were dichotomized from one general question, so the contrast may be suboptimal.

The study was funded by the Alpe d’HuZes foundation/Dutch Cancer Society. The supplied text does not report other conflicts.

Do not read this as proof that reducing fatigue causes work ability to improve. All participants received vocational guidance and exercise training, and the study had no control group, so the association could reflect other changes during cancer treatment.