Fatigue as a major predictor of quality of life in women with autoimmune liver disease - The case of primary biliary cirrhosis

Objectives. Fatigue is a nearly universal symptom of many chronic diseases, yet it is often poorly understood and underappreciated as a factor in quality of life (QOL). Generally, clinicians have relied on subjective measures of fatigue, if they consider it at all. This study uses well-validated instruments to examine fatigue as a predictor of QOL in women with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), an autoimmune, chronic liver disease. Methods. Eighty-one women with PBC completed a survey that included measures of fatigue (Fatigue Impact Scale) and QOL (SF-36) as well as demographic variables (age, education) and medical information (symptoms, stage of illness, time since diagnosis). QOL results for the sample were compared with those of a nationally normed U.S. population. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify contributors to variation in QOL. Results. Compared with national norms, QOL for this PBC population was significantly impaired. When all variables with bivariate significance in relation to QOL were included in multivariate analyses, results showed fatigue to be the primary predictor of QOL, including all 8 QOL scales and the 2 summary scales. Regression results, dominated by fatigue, explain 25-59% of the variance in QOL. Conclusions. Fatigue has profound effects on every aspect of life for women with PBC - physical, social, emotional, and psychological. The results lead to recommendations for health care providers to assess fatigue in their patients with PBC and to take steps, where warranted, to mitigate its effects.