Journal article
Fatigue severity and avoidance among individuals with chronic disease: A meta-analysis
Journal of psychosomatic research, Vol.159, pp.110951-110951
08/2022
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2022.110951
PMCID: PMC9629285
PMID: 35665612
Abstract
Fatigue is a common, debilitating symptom experienced by individuals with chronic disease. Avoidance, or the act of evading unwanted experiences, is associated with fatigue across chronic disease samples. The current study sought to determine the strength of association between fatigue severity and avoidance in individuals with chronic disease.
PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases were searched. Eligible studies measured fatigue and avoidance in chronic disease samples. Sixty-six studies were included. Data analyses were conducted in Rstudio. A random effects model was employed, and a weighted mean effect size was computed for fatigue severity and avoidance. Mixed-effects meta-regression analyses were conducted to examine moderating variables, including patient, clinical, and measurement characteristics. Publication bias was examined using funnel plot, trim-and-fill, and p-curve.
The meta-analysis comprised of 71 unique patient samples from 66 studies. The total number of included participants was 13,024. A small, positive association was found between fatigue severity and avoidance, r(71) = 0.22, p < .001, 95% CI [0.18–0.27], SE = 0.02. There was also significant heterogeneity, Q(70) = 349.96, p < .001. Moderator analyses examining age, sex, illness duration, avoidance type, and disease sample were all non-significant. Regarding publication bias, trim-and-fill resulted in a modified weighted mean effect size (r(83) = 0.18, p < .001) and a p-curve analysis supported the evidential value of the current analysis.
Findings support that among individuals with chronic disease, fatigue severity and avoidance are positively associated, which has implications for behavioral interventions in this population.
•Fatigue is a common, disabling symptom reported by patients with chronic diseases.•Avoidance (evading unwanted experiences) is associated with fatigue across samples.•Meta-analyses found a positive association between fatigue severity and avoidance.•Association strength was not impacted by age, sex, illness duration or disease type.•Findings have implications for behavioral interventions in this population.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Fatigue severity and avoidance among individuals with chronic disease: A meta-analysis
- Creators
- Jenna L. AdamowiczMiriam Vélez-BermúdezEmily B.K. Thomas
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of psychosomatic research, Vol.159, pp.110951-110951
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2022.110951
- PMID
- 35665612
- PMCID
- PMC9629285
- NLM abbreviation
- J Psychosom Res
- ISSN
- 0022-3999
- eISSN
- 1879-1360
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000002, name: National Institutes of Health, award: T32GM108540; DOI: 10.13039/100000062, name: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, award: F31DK124997; DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/2022
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984263569202771
Metrics
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