Kittiwatanapaisan Waraluk, Gauthier Dorothy K, Williams Anne M, Oh Shin J
University of Alabama School of Nursing, University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA.
J Neurosci Nurs. 2003 Apr;35(2):87-93, 106. doi: 10.1097/01376517-200304000-00004.
The purposes of this study were to validate psychometric properties of the Myasthenia Gravis Fatigue Scale (MGFS) and to use the MGFS to study the relationship of selected demographic and clinical variables to fatigue in a myasthenia gravis (MG) patient population. The MGFS, an existing scale, was developed to measure fatigue severity in MG patients. A convenience sample of 67 MG patients was approached on return visit to the Neuromuscular Disease Clinic. After giving consent, participants filled out four questionnaires: the MGFS, the Chalder Fatigue Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, and a Demographic and Clinical Data Form. Participants' muscle weakness was evaluated using the Modified Quantitative MG Score for Disease Severity assessment form (13 muscles tested). Three days after the clinic visit, a copy of the MGFS was mailed to participants to allow retest at 5 to 7 days after initial testing. Findings showed that the MGFS demonstrated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. In addition, the fatigue severity (MGFS) score correlated moderately with depression. We adjusted for the effect of depression and noted a relationship between the fatigue score and two of nine selected demographic and clinical characteristics--activity restriction and number of years since diagnosis. These results lay the groundwork for further investigation of fatigue in MG patients and identification of mitigating or coping methods.
本研究的目的是验证重症肌无力疲劳量表（MGFS）的心理测量特性，并使用MGFS研究选定的人口统计学和临床变量与重症肌无力（MG）患者群体疲劳之间的关系。MGFS是一个现有的量表，用于测量MG患者的疲劳严重程度。在神经肌肉疾病诊所复诊时，选取了67名MG患者作为便利样本。在获得同意后，参与者填写了四份问卷：MGFS、查尔德疲劳量表、流行病学研究中心抑郁量表以及一份人口统计学和临床数据表格。使用改良定量MG疾病严重程度评估量表（测试13块肌肉）对参与者的肌肉无力情况进行评估。在诊所就诊三天后，将MGFS的副本邮寄给参与者，以便在初次测试后5至7天进行重新测试。结果表明，MGFS具有足够的内部一致性和重测信度。此外，疲劳严重程度（MGFS）得分与抑郁呈中度相关。我们对抑郁的影响进行了校正，并注意到疲劳得分与九个选定的人口统计学和临床特征中的两个特征——活动受限和诊断后的年数之间存在关联。这些结果为进一步研究MG患者的疲劳以及确定缓解或应对方法奠定了基础。
