Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Dec 15;59(12):1780-7.
doi: 10.1002/art.24311.

Prevalence, severity, and predictors of fatigue in subjects with primary Sjögren's syndrome

Barbara Segal  1 , William Thomas, Tyson Rogers, Joanlise M Leon, Pamela Hughes, Danielle Patel, Ketan Patel, Jill Novitzke, Michael Rohrer, Rajaram Gopalakrishnan, Sandra Myers, Abu Nazmul-Hossain, Eshrat Emamian, Andrew Huang, Nelson Rhodus, Kathy Moser
Affiliations

Prevalence, severity, and predictors of fatigue in subjects with primary Sjögren's syndrome

Barbara Segal et al. Arthritis Rheum. .

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship of fatigue severity to other clinical features in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and to identify factors contributing to the physical and mental aspects of fatigue.

Methods: We identified 94 subjects who met the American-European Consensus Group criteria for the classification of primary SS. Fatigue was assessed with a visual analog scale, the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and the Profile of Fatigue (ProF). Associations with fatigue were compared using multivariate regression.

Results: Abnormal fatigue, defined as an FSS score >or=4, was present in 67% of the subjects. Pain, helplessness, and depression were the strongest predictors of fatigue according to the FSS and the somatic fatigue domain of the ProF (ProF-S), both with and without adjustment for physiologic and serologic characteristics. Depression was associated with higher levels of fatigue; however, the majority of subjects with abnormal fatigue were not depressed. Anti-Ro/SSA-positive subjects were no more likely to report fatigue than seronegative subjects. The regression models explained 62% of the variance in FSS and 78% of the variance in ProF-S scores. Mental fatigue was correlated with depression and helplessness, but the model predicted only 54% of the variance in mental fatigue scores.

Conclusion: Psychosocial variables are determinants of fatigue, but only partially account for it. Although fatigue is associated with depression, depression is not the primary cause of fatigue in primary SS. Investigation of the pathophysiologic correlates of physical and mental aspects of fatigue is needed to guide the development of more effective interventions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Scatter Plot of FSS* by CES-D*
* FSS = Fatigue Severity Scale, CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alamanos Y, Tsifetaki N, Voulgari PV, Venetsanopoulou AI, Siozos C, AAD Epidemiology of primary Sjogren’s syndrome in north-west Greece, 1982–2003. Rheumatology. 2006;45:187–191. - PubMed
    1. Helmick CG, Felson DT, Lawrence RC, Gabriel S, Hirsch R, Kwoh CK, et al. Estimates of the Prevalence of Arthritis and other Rheumatic Conditions in the United States. Arth Rheumatism. 2008;58:15–25. - PubMed
    1. Tsokos M, Lazarou SA, Moutsopoulos HM. Vasculitis in primary Sjogren’s syndrome: Histologic classifcation and clinical presentation. Am Journal of Clinical Pathology. 1987;88:26. - PubMed
    1. Kassen SS, Thomas TL, Moutsopoulos HM, et al. Increased risk of lymphoma in sicca syndrome. Ann Internal Med. 1989;89:888. - PubMed
    1. Barendregt PJ, Visser M, Smets E, Tulen JHM, Vanden Meiracker AH, Boomsma F, et al. Fatigue in Primary Sjogren’s syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 1998;57:291–95. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types