School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Exp Physiol. 2024 Oct;109(10):1637-1649. doi: 10.1113/EP091988. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Fatigue is prevalent amongst people with long COVID, but is poorly understood. The sensory attenuation framework proposes that impairments in sensory processing lead to heightened perception of effort, driving fatigue. This study aims to investigate the role of somatosensory processing impairments in long COVID fatigue and quantify how sensory processing relates to other prominent symptoms of long COVID including autonomic dysfunction, mood and illness beliefs in driving the experience of fatigue. We will recruit 44 individuals with long COVID fatigue and 44 individuals with neither long COVID nor fatigue (controls). Our primary objective is to compare baseline somatosensory processing between individuals with long COVID fatigue and controls. Additionally, we will explore the associations between somatosensory processing, fatigability and the level of fatigue induced by cognitive and physical exertion. Due to the complex nature of fatigue, we will also investigate how long COVID, state fatigue, perceived effort, mood, illness beliefs, autonomic symptoms and autonomic nervous system function interact to predict trait fatigue. This comprehensive investigation aims to elucidate how sensory processing and other prominent symptoms interact to impact the experience of fatigue.
疲劳在长新冠患者中很常见，但人们对此了解甚少。感觉衰减框架提出，感觉处理的损伤会导致对努力感知的增加，从而导致疲劳。本研究旨在调查长新冠疲劳中躯体感觉处理损伤的作用，并量化感觉处理与长新冠的其他突出症状（包括自主神经功能障碍、情绪和疾病信念）之间的关系，这些症状在驱动疲劳体验方面的作用。我们将招募 44 名长新冠疲劳患者和 44 名既没有长新冠也没有疲劳的个体（对照组）。我们的主要目的是比较长新冠疲劳患者和对照组之间的基线躯体感觉处理。此外，我们还将探讨躯体感觉处理、疲劳易感性以及认知和体力消耗引起的疲劳水平之间的关系。由于疲劳的复杂性，我们还将研究长新冠、状态疲劳、感知努力、情绪、疾病信念、自主症状和自主神经系统功能如何相互作用来预测特质疲劳。这项全面的研究旨在阐明感觉处理和其他突出症状如何相互作用，从而影响疲劳体验。
