Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2007, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2012 Oct;67(10):1114-20. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gls076. Epub 2012 Mar 26.
Older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) are more likely to experience increased fatigue following bouts of physical activity than those without OA. The highly "fatigable" nature of this population is problematic as it has been linked to OA severity and decreased function. This study examined the effects of engaging in standardized lab-based physical tasks on subsequent fatigue, pain, and activity in older adults with OA.
Thirty-five older adults with OA performed lab-based tasks (sweeping, grocery shopping, and walking) in 15-minute circuits until they felt too fatigued to continue. Fatigue and pain were self-reported (0-10 scale) following each circuit and at set intervals during a 4-day baseline (pretask) and a 5-day posttask home period. Activity was tracked via wrist-worn accelerometer. Multilevel modeling was used to examine levels and patterns of fatigue, pain, and activity across the study period.
The lab-based tasks altered subsequent levels and patterns of fatigue and activity but had no effects on pain. Compared with baseline, on the day of the lab-based tasks, fatigue was higher and more stable, and activity was significantly lower and dropped steadily toward evening. Activity returned to baseline levels and patterns by the day following the lab-based tasks while fatigue was lower for 3 days following task performance.
Among older adults with OA, a bout of standardized physical activity resulted in increased fatigue and reduced activity, but effects were short-lived. Future studies will need to identify factors that differentiate people who are particularly fatigable in order to target interventions.
患有骨关节炎（OA）的老年人在进行身体活动后比没有 OA 的老年人更容易出现疲劳增加的情况。该人群的高度“易疲劳”性质是有问题的，因为它与 OA 严重程度和功能下降有关。本研究旨在探讨进行标准化实验室体能任务对老年 OA 患者随后疲劳、疼痛和活动的影响。
35 名患有 OA 的老年人在 15 分钟的循环中进行实验室体能任务（扫地、购物和散步），直到他们感到过于疲劳而无法继续。疲劳和疼痛在每个循环后和 4 天基线期（任务前）和 5 天任务后家庭期的设定间隔内通过 0-10 分制自我报告。活动通过佩戴在手腕上的加速度计进行跟踪。使用多级建模来检查整个研究期间的疲劳、疼痛和活动水平和模式。
实验室体能任务改变了随后的疲劳和活动水平和模式，但对疼痛没有影响。与基线相比，在进行实验室体能任务的当天，疲劳感更高且更稳定，活动水平显著降低且在傍晚持续下降。活动在完成任务后的第二天恢复到基线水平和模式，而疲劳感在任务完成后的 3 天内较低。
在患有 OA 的老年人中，一次标准化的体力活动会导致疲劳增加和活动减少，但影响是短暂的。未来的研究需要确定区分特别容易疲劳的人的因素，以便针对干预措施。
