Most elderly people always complain about fatigue, although it is an issue that has been
Fatigue is the lack of both mental and physical motivation and energy. When one is fatigued, he or she often complains of feeling tired. Fatigue is commonly confused with drowsiness, which is a term that explains that one needs to sleep. Markedly, there are various potential causes of fatigue, including lifestyle aspects, physical health conditions, and mental health issues. Lifestyle factors are aspects like being obese, lack of sleep, lack of physical activity, physical exertion, grief, boredom, and taking some medications. Physical health conditions that contribute to fatigue entail liver disease, kidney disease, anemia, cancer, insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and eating disorders. Mental health aspects like seasonal affective disorder, depression, and anxiety can also result in fatigue. Notably, fatigue is amongst the most commonly reported symptoms which get reported in primary care, and the elderly perceive it as distressing and overwhelming experience. Fatigue is a common complaint about the elderly, and several types of research show that it contributes to adverse health outcomes, mainly for older adults.
Negative health outcomes of fatigue in the elderly
Performance deterioration is one of the key negative impacts of fatigue amongst the aged. Notably, a study conducted by Simonsick, Schrack, Glynn, & Ferrucci (2014) shows that fatigue made the aged to be less active. The study had 588 participants for evaluating performance deterioration, amongst whom 134 had slowed performance. The 588 elderly individuals participated in a 400 m walk, but before completing the task, 93 of them slowed down between the second and ninth laps. Then, after approximately 2.5 minute walk, 31 of the participants stopped. This was influenced by fatigue, and the individuals who were showing performance deterioration mainly had more symptoms of fatigue. Markedly, fatigue symptoms were not dependent on sex, race, smoking history, or obesity.
Then, fatigue also increases the rate of perceived exertion. Amongst the 470 participants in the perceived exertion study, almost 32% of them had a Borg rate of perceived exertion of 10 or more when they had a fine minute walk at 0.67 meters per second. The average RPE Borg scores were 9. The individuals who reported RPE of 10 or more showed fatigue symptoms, and they reported low walking ability. An increase in RPE score resulted in a 15% chance of the individual reporting a fatigue symptom (Simonsick et al., 2014). Therefore, the physical activity which one can get involved in at younger ages is considerably low compared to what they can do at an old age since one gets tired very quickly.
Avlund, Schultz‐Larsen, Christiansen, & Holm‐Pedersen (2011) explain that tooth loss for elderly people aged 70 years or more is associated with fatigue in a non-disabled community population dwelling. In the study conducted by Avlund et al., (2011), only 19% of the participants had 20 or more teeth, with the largest proportion of the participants being edentulous. Moreover, the fatigue symptoms were more prevalent amongst individuals of different ages, and the fatigue symptoms increased with age. For instance, about 50% of the participants felt tired while conducting their daily activities at the age of 70, while 86% of women and 77% of men felt tired while conducting their activities at the age of 85 (Avlund et al., 2011). Thus, there is a bivariate association on the number of teeth and fatigue as one gets older.
Fatigue also results in stress, which is the natural feeling of not having the capability to handle certain events and demands in life. Markedly, the study shows that fatigue can result in the loss of a few teeth, which increases the chances of frailty. Frailty refers to the physiological state of being vulnerable to stressing factors that result from low physiological reserves (Avlund et al., 2011). Similarly, the aspects can lead to dysregulation of numerous physiological systems.
Fatigue can also result in depression. Markedly, an elderly person gets tired easily for engaging in any activities. This can be frustrating, especially if an individual was active in the earlier days of life. Moreover, it results in one remaining seated all the time and barely engaging in any physical activity. Moreover, boredom accelerates fatigue amongst individuals, which worsens the entire situation further.
Furthermore, fatigue increases the chances of disability amongst the elderly. Whitson et al. (2011) explain that tiredness in daily activities is significantly linked with a subsequent disability, especially when adjusted with walking limitations. Markedly, fatigue causes the initial dysregulation within various psychological and physiological systems, which can be a subjective indication for frailty. Moreover, the muscle strength declines in old age, which results in a decreased physical activity level, lower dietary protein, and low steroid hormones. Therefore, since one can easily get tired and the muscle strength as greatly declined due to old age, the chances of becoming disabled are considerably high.
Problem definition
Fatigue, which is a perception that one does not have sufficient energy levels to meet what they demand is a common symptom for the elderly. Markedly, fatigue is commonly associated with adverse health outcomes and poor quality of life (Ekmann, Osler & Avlund, 2012). In addition to the poor physical functioning of an individual, fatigue increases mortality rates amongst the elderly. Notably, every person feels tired from time to time, but most people, after a good night’s sleep or taking good rest they feel re-energized. Nonetheless, as one reaches the age of 50 or more years, the energy levels are not as high as when they were younger. Study shows that more than 30% of the people aged 51 years and above experience fatigue often (Ekmann, Osler & Avlund, 2012). One reason why fatigue is more prevalent amongst the aged is due to the medical issues which come with age. Markedly, fatigue is commonly caused by ailments or adverse effects of medical or surgical treatment. Common ailments that result in fatigue include multiple sclerosis, thyroid disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic renal failure, hepatitis, infections, ischemic heart disease, and obstructive pulmonary disease (Ekmann, Osler, & Avlund, 2012). With age and an individual’s immunity weakness. Which increases the chances of one getting infected with one or more of this ailments
Study Hypothesis
Fatigue is a common condition amongst the elderly, and it is commonly
Why fatigue is an issue mainly amongst the elderly
There are several scholars who have done various studies on fatigue, especially in aged people. Brown et al., (2017) explains that the depressive symptoms and muscle fatigability which
Happens as one gets older can be the leading causes of fatigue amongst the aged. Markedly, fatigability refers to the extent to which performance reduces for any activity over a given duration and intensity. Moreover, Brown et al., (2017) explain that depression increases the chances of fatigue. Furthermore, fatigability is believed to increase the chances of one getting tired easily. Depression is an intense public health issue, especially in later life, and t has a close correlation with mortality. Markedly, fatigue tends to be more prevalent with age, and the chances of people with depression disorders getting more tired are high. According to the prevailing fatigue model, fatigue interferes with the daily activities which an individual does. Notably, as one grows old, the body goes through numerous age-related changes, and the body needs more energy to maintain homeostasis. Fatigability entails the measurement of exertion on given activities within a given duration, and as aforementioned, fatigue increases the physical exertion of an individual.
To explain the issue of the relationship between depressive disorders and fatigability, Brown et al., (2017) did a study that comprised of 3075 individuals who were aged between 70 and 79 years. The study took three years, and the participants were asked not to limit their motion range when the fatigue test was being done this would help in getting a maximal effort from the first and last contractions without the patients pacing themselves. The study showed that for different depressive groups, the frailty characteristics, cognition, medical comorbidity, and demographics differed. Blacks and females who had lower education attainment depicted more prevalence of medical comorbidities, especially cardiovascular and respiratory ailments. Therefore. The severity of depressive symptoms increases the chances of an individual getting fatigued. Brown et al., (2017) showed that there is a close association between increased depressive symptoms and muscle fatigability, especially amongst the aged adults.
Avlund (2004) explains that the aging process is dynamic, and it comprises numerous changes in the steps of the disablement process.