THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG SELECTED VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH FATIGUE IN WOMEN WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS.
Contributors: Catholic University of America.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 108
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem inflammatory disease, characterized by exacerbations and remissions which predominantly affects women of childbearing age. Today there are an estimated one million people in the United States diagnosed with SLE, 85% of whom are women.

Moderate to severe fatigue has been recognized as a major problem in 80% of cases both at the time of diagnosis and during the course of disease (Rothfield, 1985). Because of the dearth of information available in the literature which described the nature of fatigue in illness, the purpose of this study was to describe the relationship of fatigue with disease activity, depression, and sleep in women with SLE. Data were collected on 70 female subjects, diagnosed with SLE between the ages of 20 and 45 years. Each subject completed instruments designed to measure fatigue, depression, sleep, and the perception of disease activity. In addition, each subject was interviewed about disease activity and asked to briefly describe how fatigue had impacted on her life and ways she found effective to manage it.

The findings revealed moderate but statistically significant correlations between fatigue with depression, disease activity, steroid dose, and perception of disease activity. Depressive symptomatology was present in 74% of the sample. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the most important predictor of fatigue was the patient's perception of her disease activity.

Findings from this study described the presence and problematic nature of fatigue in SLE. It reinforced the need for nurses to carefully assess the presence of depression in chronic illness and to provide patients with realistic assessments of their situation and effective, realistic strategies to cope with them.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-06, Section: B, page: 2338.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, 1988.

School code: 0043.