Fatigue, Anxiety and Depression in Tunisian Sarcoidosis Patients

Aims: In sarcoidosis patients, fatigue in (is) one of the most frequent symptoms.It represents an integral part of the clinical picture. Many factors have been discussed in previous reviews.

The aim of this study was to assess the degree of fatigue in sarcoidosis patients along with their psychological state and to identify the influencing factors among the disease features and the psychological troubles.

Study Design: We conducted an observational, descriptive, transversal and analytic study.

Place and Duration of Study: Patients were included from the internal medicine department and the pneumo-allergology department in Sahloul and Farhat Hached hospitals (between October 2018 and March 2019).

Methodology: We included 34 patients from two internal medicine department. Two scores were used: the « Fatigue Assessment Scale » (FAS) and the « Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale » (HAD).

Results: The population was predominantly female (70.6%) with an average age of 49.77 years ± 12.32. Fatigue was noted in 52.9% of the patients. Ten patients had a score ≥ 35 (29.4%). Bone and joint involvement had a significant impact on the FAS. The disease duration and general signs were found as independent factors. The HAD score was ≥ 8 in 58.9% of the cases for anxiety and in 50% of the cases for depression. Anxiety was found to be an independent factor associated with fatigue.

Conclusion: Our results are quite worrying. The impact of sarcoidosis must be assessed regularly to ensure a better quality of life.