Predictive Factors of Fatigue among Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

               Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type 2 DM) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and fatigue in the elderly and is associated with aging process. This disease has an impact on quality of life in the elderly. An understanding of predicting factors of fatigue among Type 2 DM is essential for promoting the quality development of care in nursing.

               The objective of this predictive research was to study the fatigue and its predictive factors among elderly with Type 2 DM. The study framework of Fritschi and Quinn (2010) based on fatigue’s concept of Piper (1993) was used as a framework of this study. The sample consisted of 100 elderly with Type 2 DM aged 60 years and older chosen by multistage random sampling. Standard instruments including Thai Geriatric Depression scale (TGDS) and Multidimentional Fatigue Inventory scale (MFI-20) with reliability of .72 and .82 respectively were used among physical activity assessment and demographic data record. Data were gathered by interviews and were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation, and stepwise multiple regressions.

               The results indicated that the 49 percent of the elderly perceived their fatigue over than the average scores (  = 56.44, SD = 9.32). Physical activity, depression, and duration of illness together could predict fatigue among Type 2 DM elderly with 35 % (R²= .35, p < .01).

               The recommendations from this study suggest that nurses should use these results as an evident based information regarding to design proper nursing interventions and/ or activities in order to decrease the fatigue among the Type 2 DM elderly concerning about their physical activity, depression, and duration of illness.

Keywords: Fatigue  Type 2 diabetes Mellitus  Elderly