IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i16p8657-d615509.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“I’m So Tired”: Fatigue as a Persistent Physical Symptom among Working People Experiencing Exhaustion Disorder

Author

Listed:
  • Elín Broddadóttir

    (Department of Psychology, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Sigrún Ólafsdóttir Flóvenz

    (Department of Psychology, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Haukur Freyr Gylfason

    (Department of Business, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Þórey Þormar

    (Department of Psychology, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Hjalti Einarsson

    (Stett.is, Icelandic Confederation of University Graduates, 105 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Paul Salkovskis

    (Oxford Centre for Psychological Health, Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training and Oxford Cognitive Therapy Center, Warneford Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK)

  • Jón Friðrik Sigurðsson

    (Department of Psychology, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland
    Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

Abstract

Fatigue is widespread in the population, particularly among working people. Exhaustion disorder (ED), a clinical manifestation of burnout, is common, but, after treatment, about one-third still experience fatigue and other physical symptoms. We propose that in some instances, fatigue as a persistent physical symptom (PPS) might be a more appropriate formulation of ED patients’ fatigue problems, and we suggest that ED patients who meet fatigue PPS criteria will differ from other ED patients in terms of psychological distress, non-fatigue PPSs and functional impairment. Questionnaires were sent to 10,956 members of a trade union of which 2479 (22.6%) responded. Of 1090 participants who met criteria for ED, 106 (9.7%) met criteria for fatigue as a PPS. Participants who met fatigue PPS criteria scored on average higher on measures of depression, anxiety and functional impairment and were more likely to have clinically significant scores. Moreover, they had 27 times higher odds of meeting other PPS subtypes and reported more non-fatigue PPS subtypes, suggesting a more complex health problem. Specific evidence-based interventions are available for both ED and PPSs, and therefore, it is crucial to accurately formulate the fatigue problem reported by patients to provide appropriate treatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Elín Broddadóttir & Sigrún Ólafsdóttir Flóvenz & Haukur Freyr Gylfason & Þórey Þormar & Hjalti Einarsson & Paul Salkovskis & Jón Friðrik Sigurðsson, 2021. "“I’m So Tired”: Fatigue as a Persistent Physical Symptom among Working People Experiencing Exhaustion Disorder," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-12, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8657-:d:615509
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8657/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8657/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sangeun Lee & Sojeong Seong & Soyeon Park & Jeeyeon Lim & Soyun Hong & Youngshin Cho & Heejung Kim, 2021. "Korean Version of the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory among Construction Workers: Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Annika Lexén & Ida Kåhlin & Lena-Karin Erlandsson & Carita Håkansson, 2020. "Occupational Health among Swedish Occupational Therapists: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-13, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sigrún Ólafsdóttir Flóvenz & Paul Salkovskis & Erla Svansdóttir & Hróbjartur Darri Karlsson & Karl Andersen & Jón Friðrik Sigurðsson, 2023. "Non-Cardiac Chest Pain as a Persistent Physical Symptom: Psychological Distress and Workability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-10, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elisabeth Dahlbäck & Carita Håkansson, 2023. "A Comparison of the Self-Perceived Organisational and Social Work Environment among Swedish Occupational Therapists in Different Job Sectors: An Observational Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-10, February.
    2. Tore Bonsaksen & Sissel Horghagen & Cathrine Arntzen & Astrid Gramstad & Linda Stigen, 2023. "Job Satisfaction among Occupational Therapists Employed in Primary Care Services in Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Mauricio A. Ramírez-Moreno & Patricio Carrillo-Tijerina & Milton Osiel Candela-Leal & Myriam Alanis-Espinosa & Juan Carlos Tudón-Martínez & Armando Roman-Flores & Ricardo A. Ramírez-Mendoza & Jorge de, 2021. "Evaluation of a Fast Test Based on Biometric Signals to Assess Mental Fatigue at the Workplace—A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Youkyung Kim & Sangeun Lee & Jeeyeon Lim & Soyeon Park & Sojeong Seong & Youngshin Cho & Heejung Kim, 2021. "Factors Associated with Poor Quality of Sleep in Construction Workers: A Secondary Data Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-12, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8657-:d:615509. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.