Premium
Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of the Correlates of Cancer‐Related Fatigue
Author(s) -
Oh Hyun Soo,
Seo Wha Sook
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
worldviews on evidence‐based nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.052
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1741-6787
pISSN - 1545-102X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6787.2011.00214.x
Subject(s) - nausea , anxiety , cinahl , distress , medicine , vomiting , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , cancer , meta analysis , physical therapy , psychiatry , psychological intervention , economics , macroeconomics
Background: Fatigue is one of the most common problems experienced by cancer patients. The factors most frequently reported to correlate with cancer‐related fatigue are symptom distress (pain, nausea/vomiting, dyspnea, and lack of appetite) and psychological distress (depression and anxiety). Aims: This study was performed to examine the overall association of symptom and psychological distress with cancer‐related fatigue using systematic literature review and meta‐analysis. This study also aimed to determine which factors have a higher correlation with fatigue, and therefore should receive nursing priority. Methods: A meta‐analysis of 30 primary studies identified by searching computer databases, which included MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL. Results: Results showed that all symptoms (pain, dyspnea, nausea/vomiting, and lack of appetite) and psychological distress (depression and anxiety) included had a significant association with cancer‐related fatigue with medium‐to‐large effect sizes, which were estimated using correlation coefficients. The overall correlations of psychological distress with cancer‐related fatigue were found to be higher than those of symptom distress. The correlation of nausea/vomiting with cancer‐related fatigue was higher than those of pain and dyspnea. Conclusions and Implications: Our findings highlight the importance of psychological distress in dealing with cancer‐related fatigue in addition to the need to be attentive to a patient's symptom distress. Of the symptom distress, nausea/vomiting should be prioritized by nurses when managing cancer‐related fatigue. This study provides sound empirical evidence that can be used to draft guidelines for the management of cancer‐related fatigue.