Investigating the Impacts of Fatigue on MS Patients: A Poster from 2021 CMSC

Since fatigue is one of the most common and disabling symptoms among patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS), a recent survey was conducted to measure its impact on patients’ daily lives.

The survey utilized the RMS-specific Fatigue Symptoms and Impacts Questionnaire (FSIQ-RMS), which measures self-reported fatigue using a scoring system that ranges from 0 to 100 (with a higher number equating to greater severity).

Participants were also given questionnaires regarding their disease history, disease status, social functioning, emotional functioning, and sleep. These questionnaires, along with the FSIQ-RMS, were completed every day for a week by a total of 300 participants.

Once all of the participants’ questionnaires were collected, researchers found that fatigue had the greatest impact on patients’ daily functioning in that it received a mean score of 57.3 in the FSIQ-RMS. However, fatigue also seemed to affect certain patient populations disproportionately.

For instance, fatigue was reported to be more intense among patients with depression (49 percent) and sleep disorders (27 percent). Additionally, participants with lower disabilities cited fatigue as the most impactful symptom in their daily life.

Some other notable findings from the study include the fact that 82 percent of participants named heat exposure as the most common factor associated with increased fatigue and that 52 percent experienced fatigue before their MS diagnosis.

Based on these findings, researchers concluded that fatigue remains a major concern for those with RMS.

These results were presented in the poster titled, “A Real-World Study Characterizing Symptoms & Impacts of Fatigue in US Adults with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Using a Novel Disease-Specific Scale,” at the 2021 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting.