Chronic fatigue is prevalent and associated with hormonal dysfunction in long-term non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors treated with radiotherapy to the head and neck region.

The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of chronic fatigue (CF) in irradiated survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, analyze for associations between hormonal dysfunction and CF, and to investigate the associations between CF and functioning. Invited survivors were all treated with radiation to the head and neck region, with or without additional chemotherapy. The participants (n=98) responded to questionnaires measuring CF, mental distress (HADS), and functioning (SF-36), and had blood drawn for analyses of four hormonal axes. Hormonal status was categorized as normal, hormone dysfunction in one or more axes, or hormone replacement therapy. A total of 29% of the survivors had CF. In multivariate analyses there was an increased risk of CF among survivors with untreated hormone dysfunction (OR 3.87, 95% CI: 1.20-12.51, p=0.02). Survivors on hormone substitution did not have increased risk for CF compared to survivors with normal hormonal status. CF was significantly associated with reduced functioning.