Fatigue and associated factors among adult cancer patients receiving cancer treatment at oncology unit in Amhara region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction Fatigue is one of the most commonly and frequently reported symptoms by cancer patients. The cause of fatigue is multifactorial in origin, and its impact varies in range from affecting patients’ daily social life, and physical, mental, economic, and social well-being to becoming a threat to their quality of life. Therefore every cancer patient needs to be screened for fatigue and considered as one of the vital signs. Objective To assess the prevalence of fatigue and associated factors among adult cancer patients, receiving cancer treatment at the oncology unit in Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2022. Method Institutional-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among adult cancer patients receiving cancer treatment from May 9th–June 8th, 2022. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were entered into Epi data version 4.6 and then exported to the SPSS statistical package version 23 for further analysis. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out. P-values <0.05 in multivariable logistic regression were considered statistically significant. Results The prevalence of cancer-related fatigue was 77.3% at 95% CI (73.1–81.1) with nonresponse rate of 1.97% (9). Poor social support (AOR = 3.62; 95% CI: 1.53–8.60), anxiety (AOR = 3.13; 95% CI: 1.54–6.36), physical inactivity (AOR = 3.67; 95% CI: 1.74–7.54), underweight (AOR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.05–3.90), anemia (AOR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.04–3.90), surgery as a treatment modality (AOR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.06–0.78), combination therapy (AOR = 3.56; 95% CI: 1.68–7.54), treatment less than 3 cycle (AOR = 4.43; 95% CI: 1.53–12.80), and treatment 3–5 cycle (AOR = 3.55; 95% CI: 1.38–9.09) were significantly associated factors with cancer related fatigue. Conclusion Psychosocial assessment and intervention, nutritional support, early intervention of anemia, and promoting exercise are the key elements to minimizing fatigue among cancer patients.

Prevalence and associated factors of anemia among people with cancer in ACSH, Tigray, Ethiopia

“…In the same way, anemia is highly prevalent in Ethiopia (3,12). The prevalence ranges from 23% to 54.8% across different types of solid tumor (3,13), and the prevalence ranges from 21.7% in patients with breast cancer to 50.95% in patients with cervical cancer (12).…”

“…If untreated, anemia could have additive consequences to cancer patients. For example, untreated anemia may compromise the quality of life (QoL) and causes fatigue in cancer patients (22,24,25).For example, a cross-sectional study in Ethiopia confirmed that anemic cancer patients had increased risk of experiencing fatigue compared to patients without anemia (13). In addition, Clarke and Pallister (14)had reviewed that around 65% of cancer patients have an overall increased risk of death related to anemia.…”

5-EPIFAT trial protocol: a multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the efficacy of pharmacotherapy for fatigue using methylphenidate, bupropion, ginseng, and amantadine in advanced cancer patients on active treatment

“…Therefore, pharmacological interventions can be considered a helpful approach, but evidence in this regard is limited and recommendations are often contradictory [ 19 – 21 ]. In fact, pharmacological strategies for the treatment of CRF have not yet been established, nor is there any consensus on pharmacological management [ 9 , 19 ]. As a result, more research on pharmacological treatments of CRF is needed, especially in patients with advanced cancer [ 20 ].…”