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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Rheumatology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1418995

Assessing Fatigue in Women Over 50 years with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comprehensive Case-Control Study Using the FACIT-F Scale

Provisionally accepted
Lidia Valencia-Muntalà Lidia Valencia-Muntalà Carmen Gómez-Vaquero Carmen Gómez-Vaquero Laura Berbel-Arcobé Laura Berbel-Arcobé Diego Benavent Diego Benavent Paola Vidal Paola Vidal XAVIER JUANOLA XAVIER JUANOLA Javier Narvaez Javier Narvaez Joan M Nolla Joan M Nolla *
  • Department of Rheumatology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Bercelona, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction. Data on prevalence of fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the era of biological treatments remains scarce, with a lack of case-control studies. This study evaluates the prevalence of fatigue in Spanish women over 50 years with RA using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) scale, explores its association with RA-related variables, and seeks to identify the primary factors influencing fatigue. Ultimately, our objective is to underscore the clinical significance of fatigue as a comorbidity and to advocate for its systematic evaluation in routine clinical practice. Methods. In a case-control study at a tertiary university hospital, 191 women over 50 years (mean age: 67.5 ± 8.8 years) meeting ACR 2010 criteria for RA and age-matched controls were assessed using the FACIT-F scale, SF-12 questionnaire, and RA-related clinical measures. Results. Fatigue was significantly more prevalent in the RA group (61%) compared to controls (37%, p < 0.001), with RA patients showing lower mean FACIT-F scores (36.0 ± 10.6 vs. 40.0 ± 0.6, p < 0.001). Correlations were noted between FACIT-F scores and C-reactive protein, DAS28, RAPID3, HAQ, and SF-12 scores. A multivariate analysis was performed and four models generated. The final model, with an R² of 0.817, indicates that fatigue is significantly influenced by disease activity (RAPID 3) and mental and physical health (SF12) and age, explaining 81.7% of the variance in fatigue. Conclusions. Fatigue remains significantly prevalent and severe in women over 50 years with RA, strongly linked to disease activity, disability, and diminished quality of life. Systematic fatigue assessment and targeted strategies in clinical settings are essential to address this widespread issue. Future research should explore targeted interventions tailored to this demographic to enhance quality of care.

    Keywords: Fatigue, Rheumatoid arthritis, FACIT-F scale, Comorbidity, case-control study

    Received: 17 Apr 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Valencia-Muntalà, Gómez-Vaquero, Berbel-Arcobé, Benavent, Vidal, JUANOLA, Narvaez and Nolla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Joan M Nolla, Department of Rheumatology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Bercelona, Spain

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