Abstract
The aim of this paper is to give an overview of research on general fatigue, mobility-related fatigue, and fatigability in older adults, with a focus on fatigue as an early indicator of the aging process. Fatigue is a strong predictor of functional limitations, disability, mortality, and other adverse outcomes in young-old and old-old populations, in men and women, and in different geographic localities. Several biological, physiological, and social explanations are proposed: fatigue may be seen not only as a self-reported indicator of frailty, defined as a physiologic state of increased vulnerability to stressors which results from decreased physiologic reserves and even dysregulation of multiple physiologic systems, but this state may be accelerated by the cumulative impact of social, mental, and biological factors throughout life. Fatigue in older adults is the result of multiple potentially modifiable factors, of which some may be fully treated or at least alleviated, thus slowing down the speed of the aging process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 43-63 |
| ISSN | 2164-1846 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2013 |