A feeling of mild fatigue that passes after a while is quite common – but it turns out that if it strikes you too frequently or persists for a long time, it may predict some significant dangers lurking for you, and it’s worth being aware of them. A new, long-term study from a researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh found that severe and persistent fatigue can have very negative consequences. While the results here are not encouraging, it’s worth knowing them to understand what to watch out for.
Dr. Nancy W. Glynn, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health, has been researching fatigue for many years. Early in her career, she identified that researchers and professionals in the field lacked a reliable tool to measure fatigue levels. Therefore, at that time, she defined the phenomenon with the vague definition: "whole-body fatigue anchored in quantifiable activities." During that period, to assess a person’s level of fatigue, researchers would ask general questions like, "How tired are you?" or "How weak do you feel?"
Dr. Glynn was not satisfied with this situation at all: "We really wanted to measure fatigue more accurately in our research projects," she says. Therefore, over time and as she progressed in her work on this topic, Dr. Glynn succeeded in developing a more qualitative method for assessing fatigue levels. In 2014, she even compiled everything she had learned to create a new tool called the "Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale" - Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale – which is currently available in 12 languages (Hebrew is still not one of them). This scale consists of a 10-question questionnaire designed for adults aged 60 and older. It is self-administered by the participants and examines their physical and mental fatigue in the context of activities with defined intensity and duration. In the test, participants are asked to respond and rate their answers to questions like: "How fatigued did you feel after a brisk one-hour walk?" or "How fatigued did you feel after watching TV for two hours?"
In recent years, Dr. Glynn and her colleagues have used the scale she developed to conduct several studies. In the most recent one, which was particularly extensive, Dr. Glynn served as the lead researcher, and it included no fewer than 3,000 participants. This study was published in December 2021 in the Journal of Gerontology (the study of aging) – and its results are very interesting, albeit somewhat concerning. We will now tell you how it was conducted and what the data revealed.
How the Study Was Conducted That Determined: Excessive Fatigue Can Indicate Premature Mortality
Dr. Glynn and her colleagues examined thousands of participants aged 60 to 108, with an average age of 73.5. The participants answered questions taken from the "Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale," rating their level of fatigue from 0 (not fatigued at all) to 5 (extremely fatigued) in relation to their feelings about specific activities. Thus, the higher a participant’s score on the scale, the greater their level of fatigue.
All data collection on mortality among the participants was completed by the end of 2019 to avoid results being influenced by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the study took into account other variables that could affect mortality rates, such as depression and other medical conditions. And what were the results? The researchers found that those who scored 25 points or higher on the fatigue scale were at a 2.3 times higher risk of mortality in the 2.7 years following the study’s conclusion compared to those who scored 25 or lower.
This may sound frightening, as the results point to premature mortality among those who suffered the most from fatigue, but Dr. Glynn offers some reassurance, stating that she still cannot definitively determine the extent of the connection between fatigue and death. "It’s very tricky to understand whether this is the chicken or the egg. Does physical activity affect fatigue, and then people become functionally unfit? Or is it the other way around? Are you fatigued, or is there something that makes you fatigued and leads to a decline in physical activity?"
Dr. Glynn and her fellow researchers tried to address this "chicken and egg" question in other research projects – for example, in an article published earlier in 2021 which suggests that increased levels of physical activity lead to a reduction in physical fatigue. "These are definitely points in favor of the fact that physical activity may be a practical model for reducing fatigue," says Dr. Glynn.
According to Dr. Scott Kaiser, director of the Geriatric Cognitive Health Unit at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, the good news from these studies is that there is hope for older adults and seniors experiencing frequent fatigue. "It’s something you can adopt, right?" he says regarding sports training and physical activity. "If you’re not fit, you can start getting fit."
Dr. Glynn, for her part, now hopes to create, based on the research program, activities for people seeking to improve their resilience and perseverance. "My ultimate goal is to design a physical activity intervention aimed at reducing fatigue so that we can truly quantify and identify the type, dose, and frequency needed to lower fatigue among older adults."
Another thing Dr. Glynn hopes for is that her research will lead medical professionals to talk more about the phenomenon of fatigue: "This is something that usually doesn’t get addressed by treating physicians during physical exams," she says. "People shouldn’t just have to live with it." Dr. Kaiser adds that fatigue is also something people should consider when undergoing periodic health checkups to assess their health status: "A state of fatigue that develops easily can be added to the list of potential warning signs," he says. "Then you’ll know it’s time to act."
So, if you want to start getting rid of your fatigue and muster renewed energy to get moving, we recommend starting with the yoga exercises mentioned in the following article that will help you combat fatigue, as well as applying the following tips that will contribute to your fight against mental fatigue.
