H Hoofs1, N W H Jansen2, M W J Jansen3, I J Kant2. 1. Department of Epidemiology, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Academic Collaborative Centre for Public Health Limburg, Public Health Service Southern Limburg, Geleen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Huub.Hoofs@maastrichtuniversity.nl. 2. Department of Epidemiology, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. 3. Academic Collaborative Centre for Public Health Limburg, Public Health Service Southern Limburg, Geleen, The Netherlands; Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Fatigue is an important health outcome in public and occupational health care. To correctly understand and treat high levels of (prolonged) fatigue it is important to disentangle the state of fatigue into a time-varying (occasion) and -invarying (trait) component. Not only for understanding of the construct itself over time but also for its relation with (health) outcomes such as sickness absence. METHODS: Longitudinal data (n=2316) from the Maastricht Cohort Study (MCS) study was used, which assessed fatigue across 4-month intervals using the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS). RESULTS: It was found that the occasion component explains 27.60% (95%-CI [25.80%; 29.40%]) of the variance of fatigue and the trait component 71.00% (95%-CI [69.00%; 72.90%]). The trait component was, furthermore, found to be a significant predictor of sickness absence. CONCLUSION: Fatigue has a considerable time-invariant component. As this component is also related with other adverse health outcomes, preventive measures and interventions should take the difference between the occasion and trait component of fatigue into account.
OBJECTIVE:Fatigue is an important health outcome in public and occupational health care. To correctly understand and treat high levels of (prolonged) fatigue it is important to disentangle the state of fatigue into a time-varying (occasion) and -invarying (trait) component. Not only for understanding of the construct itself over time but also for its relation with (health) outcomes such as sickness absence. METHODS: Longitudinal data (n=2316) from the Maastricht Cohort Study (MCS) study was used, which assessed fatigue across 4-month intervals using the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS). RESULTS: It was found that the occasion component explains 27.60% (95%-CI [25.80%; 29.40%]) of the variance of fatigue and the trait component 71.00% (95%-CI [69.00%; 72.90%]). The trait component was, furthermore, found to be a significant predictor of sickness absence. CONCLUSION:Fatigue has a considerable time-invariant component. As this component is also related with other adverse health outcomes, preventive measures and interventions should take the difference between the occasion and trait component of fatigue into account.