Chronic fatigue and affective disorders in older adults: evidence from the 2007 British National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

Background: Although chronic fatigue is common in old age, the association between chronic fatigue and common affective disorders is largely unknown.

Aims: To fill this research gap, the present study aims to determine the relationship between chronic fatigue and common psychiatric disorders among older adults aged 65 and older.

Method: A national representative sample of 1793 England community-dwelling respondents aged 65 and above was assessed in the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) using the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule to measure chronic fatigue and common psychiatric disorders. Demographic characteristics, medical conditions, and four health-related variables based on the Short Form 12 were also measured.

Results: The prevalence of chronic fatigue was 18.6%. Bivariate analyses revealed that chronic fatigue was more common among women and non-white ethnicities. In addition, chronic fatigue was significantly related to depression, mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder after adjusting for demographic variables, medical conditions, and four other health-related variables.

Conclusion: The prevalence rate of chronic fatigue in our sample is higher than a previous study. The psychiatric comorbidity of chronic fatigue supports the notion that chronic fatigue has a strong impact on quality of life in old age.