Correlation between fatigue and quality of life among patients with neuromyelitis optica in West China.

Objective: To investigate the current status and determinants of fatigue and to examine the relationship between fatigue and quality of life (QOL) in patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Methods: Eligible patients with NMO were assessed with the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) and the Chinese version of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54). Clinical factors influencing fatigue were explored and the association between fatigue and QOL was analyzed. Results: Sixty-nine patients (mean age 40.13 years, male/female 6/63) were enrolled. The median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 3, and 75.4% were seropositive for NMO-IgG. The total FIS score was 67.12 ± 41.24, accounted for by the three sub-dimensions: cognitive fatigue 13.80 ± 9.63, physical fatigue 20.48 ± 12.93, and psychosocial fatigue 32.84 ± 20.94. EDSS scores were positively correlated with total fatigue and all its subdomains; the number of relapses was positively correlated with cognitive fatigue; total fatigue and its subdomains were moderately and negatively correlated with all QOL dimensions. Conclusion: Disability status in NMO patients is associated with overall fatigue and its subdomains; relapse frequency is linked to cognitive fatigue; fatigue is negatively correlated with quality of life.