Fatigue in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and its impact on quality of life

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 5; p. e0177230
• Main Authors: Seok, Jin Myoung, Choi, Misong, Cho, Eun Bin, Lee, Hye Lim, Kim, Byoung Joon, Lee, Kwang Ho, Song, Pamela, Joo, Eun Yeon, Min, Ju-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 23.05.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Antibodies; Aquaporin 4; Aquaporin 4 - immunology; Aquaporins; Archives & records; Autoantibodies; Autoantibodies - blood; Autoimmune diseases; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomarkers - blood; Care and treatment; Central nervous system; Depression - blood; Depression - complications; Depression - immunology; Disability Evaluation; Evaluation; Fatigue; Fatigue - blood; Fatigue - complications; Fatigue - immunology; Fatigue - psychology; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Inflammatory diseases; Linear Models; Male; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Neurology; Neuromyelitis; Neuromyelitis optica; Neuromyelitis Optica - blood; Neuromyelitis Optica - complications; Neuromyelitis Optica - immunology; Neuromyelitis Optica - psychology; Neurosciences; Pain; Pain - blood; Pain - complications; Pain - immunology; Pain Measurement; Patient outcomes; Physical Sciences; Physicians; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Registries; Remission; Self Report; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep; Sleep disorders
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177230

Fatigue is a prevalent symptom and major burden in neuroimmunological diseases. In neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a severe autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory disease with autoantibodies reactive to aquaporin-4, there are few reports about fatigue and quality of life (QOL). We aimed to evaluate the severity of fatigue and its relationship with QOL in patients with NMOSD. We prospectively studied patients with NMOSD who were in remission and seropositive for anti-aquaporin-4 antibody, and they were divided into 2 groups based on the presence of fatigue assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-fatigue score. Sleep quality, depression, pain, and QOL were also evaluated. A total of 35 patients were enrolled (mean age, 46.5 ± 14.1 years; female: male = 29:6), and the median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 2.0 (range, 0 to 8.0). The patients with fatigue (N = 25, 71.4%) had poorer sleep quality and more severe depression than those without fatigue (p = 0.009 and p = 0.001). Both the physical and mental QOL scores were lower in patients with fatigue than in those without fatigue (p = 0.033 and p = 0.004). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the degree of fatigue with EDSS score and pain were independent predictors of physical aspects of QOL (B = 0.382, p = 0.001), whereas depression was the only predictor of the mental components of QOL (B = -0.845, p = <0.001). Fatigue is a common symptom and an important predictor of QOL in patients with NMOSD.