Multidimensional outcomes associated with chronic fatigue over 12 months in youth with emerging mood disorders, 2025, Hickie

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399925001059?via=ihub

Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume 193, June 2025, 112141
Multidimensional outcomes associated with chronic fatigue over 12 months in youth with emerging mood disorders

Emiliana Toninia,*, Jacob J. Crousea,1, Mirim Shina, Joanne S. Carpentera, Andrew R. Lloydb, Gabrielle Hindmarsha, Sarah McKennaa, Alissa Nichlesa, Natalia Zmicerevskaa, Jan Scottc, Frank Iorfinoa, Christos Pantelisd,e,f, Barnaby Nelsong,h, Patrick D. McGorryg,h, Stephen J. Woodg,h,i, Alison R. Yungj,k, Rosemary Purcellg,h, Ian B. Hickiea,1

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2025.112141
Open access

Highlights

• •
  52 % of young people with emerging mood disorders experienced chronic fatigue over 12 months.
• •
  Chronic fatigue was associated with persistently elevated anxiety, more disability, weight gain and shorter sleep duration.
• •
  Chronic fatigue in females was associated with longer sleep latency at follow-up, but not in males.

Abstract

Background
Complaints of chronic fatigue lasting weeks or longer are common during adolescence. Little is known about factors associated with chronic fatigue in youth with mood disorders or potential sex-specific associations.

Methods
496 young people (mean age = 18.36-years, SD = 3.22; 69 % female) seeking help for mental healthcare were assessed on psychological symptoms, lifestyle, and sleep at baseline and 12-months later. Fatigue was defined as a score of ≥3 on the somatic subscale of the Somatic and Psychological Health Report. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between clinical, lifestyle, and related factors and chronic fatigue caseness, including main effects and sex interactions.

Results
Half (52 % [N = 260]) of the sample reported fatigue at both baseline and 12-month follow-up (“chronic fatigue”). Univariately, chronic fatigue cases were more commonly at later clinical stages of mental disorder and had worse mental health, sleep disturbance, and disability at baseline and follow-up. In covariate-adjusted analyses, being a chronic fatigue case was associated with persistently elevated anxiety and, at 12-month follow-up, more disability, weight gain, and shorter sleep duration. In sex-interaction analyses, chronic fatigue in females was associated with longer sleep latency at follow-up (OR = 1.97), but not in males.

Conclusion
Chronic fatigue was common and associated with poorer mental health and functioning longitudinally. While there were no sex differences in the rates of chronic fatigue, there were some sex differences in the factors associated with it. Systematic screening and early intervention for chronic fatigue, considering sex-specific factors, may improve multidimensional outcomes in youth with emerging mood disorders.

• Previous article in issue
• Next article in issue

Keywords
Fatigue
Tiredness
Adolescence
Predictors
Mood disorders
Disability

 

Ugh.. More meaningless scales used to measure vague concepts that all are heavily influenced by just being ill in general.

 

Completely useless and not even worth bothering to even pretend to try and decipher what the hell an 'emerging mood disorder' even is. Shame on the NHMRC for funding crap while failing to fund serious research. Research funding is terribly mismanaged in this area.

 

Is being a moody teenager now considered as a disorder they really are stretching the meaning of disorder to label everyone .Being sick with a disease the medical profession does not know how to deal with is hard enough without the clueless adding their twopence worth .