Predictors of Fatigue After Treatment for Prostate Cancer

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether post-treatment fatigue among men treated for prostate cancer varies by treatment, demographics, or pretreatment general and disease-specific health-related quality of life. The authors also sought to describe the baseline characteristics of men who were fatigued at follow-up to allow for interventions in those at greatest risk. METHODS: The authors conducted a secondary analysis on data gathered from men with prostate cancer at biopsy and after treatment by examining factors that predicted for post-treatment fatigue. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate analysis results demonstrated that post-treatment fatigue was associated with baseline fatigue, role limitations due to emotional problems, treatment type, and treatment location. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that those who were fatigued at follow-up were more likely to have been treated at a public facility (P = 0.0017), be nonwhite (Latino, African American, or Asian Pacific-Islander; P = 0.0362), be married (P = 0.0413), be not employed at least part-time (P = 0.0327), to have one or more comorbidities (P = 0.0005), and to have scored lower in all domains of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey and UCLA Prostate Cancer Index at baseline (all P