Demographic and clinical factors affecting cancer-related fatigue

Cancer is one of the most important health-related issue in Iran and worldwide; and fatigue is one of the most common problems related to it. Cancer-related fatigue significantly affects the physical, psychological, social and spiritual health of the patient and is associated with reduced survival and increased mortality rates in patients. Considering the significant effect of fatigue on the quality of life of patients with cancer as well as the lack of knowledge on this topic, the present study aimed to examine the frequency and severity of fatigue and its correlation with demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with cancer.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 290 patients with cancer were included through convenience sampling. Data was collected by a self-report questionnaire and demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire. The results were analyzed by Pearson and Spearman correlation, ANOVA and T-test (P<0.05).

Mean score of fatigue of patients were calculated 12.6±5.896, 7.4±3.186, and 5.2 ±3.658 for the sub-scales of physical, emotional, and cognitive fatigue and 25.1±9.285 for the total scale. Results revealed that fatigue severity has a significant negative correlation with the level of education and family income. Moreover, a direct and significant correlation was found between metastasis and fatigue severity (P<0.05).

Fatigue is experienced by patients with cancer and is correlated with demographic and clinical factors. Therefore nurses, as key members of the healthcare team, must pay attention to fatigue and the role of demographic and clinical factors in order to provide effective holistic care.