Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25556993›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2015

The Pittsburgh Fatigability scale for older adults: development and validation.

Nancy W Glynn, Adam J Santanasto, Eleanor M Simonsick, Robert M Boudreau, Scott R Beach, Richard Schulz, Anne B Newman

3 registry-linked trialsAbstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 121 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
121citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

NCT04651452 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

A Value Affirmation Intervention for Physical Symptoms and Medication Adherence in Breast Cancer Patients Taking Aromatase Inhibitors

TypeinterventionalSponsorCarnegie Mellon UniversityRan2021 to 2026Enrolled250ConditionsBreast CancerArmsValue Affirmation, Reflective Journaling
NCT05732935 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Fasting to Provide Energy Needed to Help Adults in Need of Cognitive Enhancement (FASTING ENHANCE)

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of FloridaRan2023 to 2026Enrolled45ConditionsOverweight and Obesity, Time Restricted Feeding, Alzheimer DiseaseArmsTime Restricted Eating intervention, Successful Aging Comparison Group (LEARN)
NCT07180147 active not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Arlington Longitudinal Optimal Healthy Aging Study (ALOHA)

TypeobservationalSponsorMarymount UniversityRan2025 to 2031Enrolled500ConditionsAlzheimer Disease (AD), Cardio Vascular Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Frailty Syndrome
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

121 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Effect of Hearing Intervention Versus Health Education Control on Fatigue: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024
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  17. The right tool for the job: a comparative psychometric analysis of commonly used perceived fatigue and fatigability measures in multiple sclerosis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
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  18. Psychometric properties of the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale for assessing physical and mental fatigability in Brazilian older adults (PFS-Brasil).Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas · 2026
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61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Nancy W GlynnDepartment of Epidemiology, Center for Aging and Population Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Adam J Santanasto
Eleanor M Simonsick
Robert M Boudreau
Scott R Beach
Richard Schulz
Anne B Newman

Funding

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study Of AgingZIAAG000015 · NIA · NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING · PI SIMONSICK, ELEANOR MARIE · 2009 to 2025
$116.9M
VARIABILITY, STABILITY & SMOOTHNESS OF WALKINGP30AG024827 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI JENNIFER S BRACH · 2004 to 2026
$28.6M
White Matter Change and CNS Process in the ElderlyK23AG024826 · NIA · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · PI SILBERT, LISA C · 2004 to 2008
$840k
Intramural NIH HHSNIA NIH HHS K23 AG024826NIA NIH HHS P30 AG024826NIA NIH HHS P30 AG024827
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo describe the development of the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS) and establish its reliability and concurrent and convergent validity against performance measures.

designCross-sectional.

settingUniversity of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

participantsScale development sample: 1,013 individuals aged 60 and older from two registries; validation sample: 483 adults aged 60 and older from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). MEASUREMENTS: The scale development sample and BLSA participants self-administered an initial 26-item perceived fatigability scale. BLSA participants also completed measures of performance fatigability (perceived exertion from a standard treadmill task and performance deterioration from a fast-paced long-distance corridor walk), a 6-m usual-paced corridor walk, and five timed chair stands.

resultsPrincipal components analysis with varimax rotation reduced the 26-item scale to the 10-item PFS. The PFS showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.88) and excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation 0.86). In the validation sample, PFS scores, adjusted for age, sex, and race, were greater for those with high performance fatigability, slow gait speed, worse physical function, and lower fitness, with differences between high and low fatigability ranging from 3.2 to 5.1 points (P < .001).

conclusionThe 10-item PFS physical fatigability score is a valid and reliable measure of perceived fatigability in older adults and can serve as an adjunct to performance-based fatigability measures for identifying older adults at risk of mobility limitation in clinical and research settings.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingAgedAgingCross-Sectional StudiesDisability EvaluationFatigueFemaleGeriatric AssessmentHumansMaleMiddle AgedMobility LimitationPennsylvaniaPhysical ExertionWalkingfatigabilityfatiguemobilityperformance measuresvalidation

Identifiers

PMID25556993
PMCPMC4971882

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.