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- Holmqvist, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Fatigue and cognitive fatigability in patients with chronic pain
- 2024
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Pain. - : Walter de Gruyter. - 1877-8860 .- 1877-8879. ; 24:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Fatigue is common in patients with chronic pain. Still, there is a lack of studies examining objectively measurable cognitive aspects of fatigue: cognitive fatigability (CF). We aimed to investigate the presence of CF in patients with chronic pain and its relation to self-rated fatigue, attention, pain characteristics, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety.Methods: Two hundred patients with chronic pain and a reference group of 36 healthy subjects underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, including measurement of CF with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Coding subtest, and self-assessment of trait and state fatigue.Results: The patients with chronic pain did not show more CF as compared to the reference group. There was an association between CF and processing speed on a test of sustained and selective attention in the chronic pain group, while self-rated fatigue measures and pain characteristics were not associated with CF. Self-rated fatigue measures were highly correlated with self-rated pain intensity, spreading of pain, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance.Conclusions: The findings highlight the distinction between objective and subjective aspects of fatigue in chronic pain, and that the underlying causes of these different aspects of fatigue need to be studied further.
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| 2. |
- Möller, Marika C., et al.
(author)
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Cognitive and mental fatigue in chronic pain : cognitive functions, emotional aspects, biomarkers and neuronal correlates - protocol for a descriptive cross-sectional study
- 2023
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 13:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Chronic pain (CP) is one of the most frequently presenting conditions in health care and many patients with CP report mental fatigue and a decline in cognitive functioning. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study protocol describes a cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the presence of self-rated mental fatigue, objectively measured cognitive fatigability and executive functions and their relation to other cognitive functions, inflammatory biomarkers and brain connectivity in patients with CP. We will control for pain-related factors such as pain intensity and secondary factors such as sleep disturbances and psychological well-being. Two hundred patients 18-50 years with CP will be recruited for a neuropsychological investigation at two outpatient study centres in Sweden. The patients are compared with 36 healthy controls. Of these, 36 patients and 36 controls will undergo blood sampling for inflammatory markers, and of these, 24 female patients and 22 female controls, between 18 and 45 years, will undergo an functional MRI investigation. Primary outcomes are cognitive fatigability, executive inhibition, imaging and inflammatory markers. Secondary outcomes include self-rated fatigue, verbal fluency and working memory. The study provides an approach to study fatigue and cognitive functions in CP with objective measurements and may demonstrate new models of fatigue and cognition in CP.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Swedish Ethics Review Board (Dnr 2018/424-31; 2018/1235-32; 2018/2395-32; 2019-66148; 2022-02838-02). All patients gave written informed consent to participate in the study. The study findings will be disseminated through publications in journals within the fields of pain, neuropsychology and rehabilitation. Results will be spread at relevant national and international conferences, meetings and expert forums. The results will be shared with user organisations and their members as well as relevant policymakers.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05452915.
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