ArticlePain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2014
Fatigue and depression in sick-listed chronic low back pain patients.
Article in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fatigue in patients with syndromic heritable thoracic aortic disease: a systematic review of the literature and a qualitative study of patients' experiences and perceptions.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Adrenal fatigue does not exist: a systematic review.BMC endocrine disorders · 2016Pooled it
- Biopsychosocial predictors and trajectories of work participation after transdiagnostic occupational rehabilitation of participants with mental and somatic disorders: a cohort study.BMC public health · 2018Trial
- Disability, Fatigue and Mental Health in Acute Versus Chronic Spinal Pain in the Gaza Strip: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Article
- An explorative cross-sectional study on the association between immunological biomarkers in patients with chronic pain.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- The Handgrip Endurance Task as a Simple Clinical Indicator of Mental Fatigue in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Effect of exercise-induced muscle fatigue on reaction times under postural perturbation conditions in individuals with and without chronic low back pain.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- [Comorbidity of chronic pain and fatigue : Common mechanisms, common treatment steps?]Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2025Review
- Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Fatigue, Different Types of Physical Activity, Postural Changes, and Sleep Quality in University Students-Part II Analyses from a Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- The Possible Association of Burnout and Neuropathic Low Back Pain Among Hungarian Postal Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Identifying domains of health-related quality of life: the perspective of individuals with low back pain.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2023Article
- Substantiating the Therapeutic Effects of Simultaneous Heat Massage Combined with Conventional Physical Therapy for Treatment of Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Preoperative Zung depression scale predicts outcomes in older patients undergoing short-segment fusion surgery for degenerative lumbar spinal disease.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Article
- Associations between excessive fatigue and pain, sleep, mental-health and work factors in Norwegian nurses.PloS one · 2023Article
- The temporal relation between pain and fatigue in individuals receiving treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
- Fatigue Severity among Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: Relations to Opioid Use and Hazardous Alcohol Use.Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior · 2021Article
- Anxiety Sensitivity and Fatigue Severity Among Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain.Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior · 2021Article
- The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity in terms of Weight-related Impairment and Fatigue Severity among Adults with Obesity and Chronic Low Back Pain.Cognitive therapy and research · 2020Article
- Kinesiophobia contributes to pain-related disability in breast cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe relationship between fatigue and pain has been investigated previously, but little is known about the prevalence of substantial fatigue in patients sick-listed for chronic low back pain (CLBP) and about how fatigue is associated with depression, pain, and long-term disability. The aims of the study were to examine the prevalence of substantial fatigue; associations between fatigue, depression, and pain; and whether fatigue predicted long-term disability.
methodsFive hundred sixty-nine patients participating in a randomized controlled trial and sick-listed 2-10 months for LBP were included in the study. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted to investigate the prevalence and independent associations between fatigue, depression, pain, and disability, while longitudinal analyses were done to investigate the association between fatigue and long-term disability.
resultsThe prevalence of substantial fatigue was 69.7%. Women reported significantly more fatigue than men (t = -3.6, df = 551; P < .001). Those with substantial fatigue had higher pain intensity (t = -3.3, df = 534; P = 0.01), more depressive symptoms (t = -10.9, df = 454; P < 0.001), and more disability (t = -7.6, df = 539; P < 0.001) than those without substantial fatigue. Musculoskeletal pain and depression were independently associated with substantial fatigue. In the longitudinal analyses, fatigue predicted long-term disability at 3, 6, and 12 months' follow-up. After pain and depression were controlled for, fatigue remained a significant predictor of disability at 6 months' follow-up.
conclusionsThe vast majority of the sick-listed CLBP patients reported substantial fatigue. Those with substantial fatigue had more pain and depressive symptoms and a significant risk of reporting more disability at 3, 6, and 12 months. Substantial fatigue is disabling in itself but also involves a risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome and long-term disability.
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Registered trials
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