AUTHOR=Crane Patricia Barton , Efird Jimmy T. , Abel Willie Mae 

TITLE=Fatigue in Older Adults Postmyocardial Infarction

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00055

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2016.00055

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec id="ST1"><title>Objective</title><p>The purpose of this study was to comprehensively examine putative factors that may independently contribute to fatigue and subsequent persistence of fatigue in elderly adults 6–8 months post-myocardial infarction (MI). Studies suggest cardiac function, comorbidities, daytime sleepiness, depression, anemia, interleukins, and social support are correlates of fatigue; however, no studies have systematically examined these factors 6 months post-MI in an aging population.</p></sec><sec id="ST2"><title>Methods</title><p>Study participants included 49 women and men (<italic>N</italic> = 98) ages 65–91 who were 6–8 months post-MI. Data collection included the demographic health status questionnaire (heart rate, blood pressure, body mass index, and medications), fatigue-related comorbidity scale, revised Piper fatigue scale, Epworth sleepiness scale, geriatric depression scale, social provisions scale, and venous blood tests (B-natriuretic peptide, hemoglobin, and interleukin-6).</p></sec><sec id="ST3"><title>Results</title><p>Fatigue persisted after MI in 76% of older men and women with no difference by sex. Only depression scores (<italic>P</italic><sub>trend</sub> = 0.0004) and mean arterial pressure (<italic>P</italic><sub>trend</sub> = 0.015) were found to be linearly independent predictors for fatigue, controlling for age, Il-6 levels, and body mass index.</p></sec><sec id="ST4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Post-MI depression and mean arterial blood pressure are important to assess when examining fatigue post-MI in older populations.</p></sec>