Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-cnmwb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T17:04:15.491Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

What are the best terms in Portuguese to explain the concepts of “fatigue” and “depression” in cancer patients?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2014

Carlos Eduardo Paiva ,
Luciana Lopes Manfredini ,
Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro Paiva ,
Estela Cristina Carneseca ,
Sriram Yennurajalingam ,
Eduardo Bruera  and
David Hui
Carlos Eduardo Paiva*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Oncology, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil Palliative Care and Quality of Life Research Group, Post Graduation Program, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
Luciana Lopes Manfredini
Affiliation:
Cancer Hospital Children and Youth President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro Paiva
Affiliation:
Palliative Care and Quality of Life Research Group, Post Graduation Program, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
Estela Cristina Carneseca
Affiliation:
Palliative Care and Quality of Life Research Group, Post Graduation Program, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil
Sriram Yennurajalingam
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Eduardo Bruera
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
David Hui
Affiliation:
Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Carlos Eduardo Paiva, Departamento de Oncologia Clínica, Rua Antenor Duarte Villela, 1331 Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil, CEP 14784-400. E-mail: caredupai@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

Although “fatigue” and “depression” are well-accepted clinical terms in the English language, they are ill defined in many other languages, including Portuguese. We aimed to investigate the most appropriate words to describe cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and depression in Brazilian cancer patients.

Method:

The interviewers read to patients two clinical vignettes describing fatigued patients and two others describing depressed patients. Participants were asked to choose from among “fatigue,” “tiredness,” “weakness,” “depression,” and “sadness” the best and worst terms to explain the vignettes. In addition, they were administered an instrument containing numeric rating scales (NRSs), addressing common symptoms, including the aforementioned terms. Pearson correlation analysis and accuracy diagnostic tests were conducted using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment–Fatigue (FACIT–F) as references.

Results:

Among the 80 participants, 40% reported that the best term to explain the concept of CRF was “tiredness,” and 59% chose “sadness” as the best descriptor of depression. Regarding diagnostic accuracy, the areas under the curve (AUCs) for “fatigue,” “weakness,” and “tiredness” were 0.71, 0.81, and 0.76, respectively; the AUCs for “depression” and “sadness” ranged from 0.81 to 0.91 and 0.73 to 0.83, respectively. Negative correlations were found among FACIT–F fatigue subscale scores and NRS scores for “fatigue” (r = –0.58), “tiredness” (r = –0.67), and “weakness” (r = –0.62). Regarding depression, there were positive correlations between HADS–D scores and both NRS for “depression” (r = 0.61) and “sadness” (r = 0.54).

Significance of results:

“Tiredness” was considered the best descriptor of CRF. Taking into consideration the clinical correlation with depression scores, the term “depression” was accepted as the best term to explain the concept of depression.

Keywords

CancerFatigueDepressionDiagnostic accuracyMeaning
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 991 - 996
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Botega, N.J., Bio, M.R., Zomignani, M.A., et al. (1995). Mood disorders among inpatients in ambulatory and validation of the anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Revista de Saúde Pública, 29(5), 355–363.Google Scholar
Boyes, A., D'Este, C., Carey, M., et al. (2013). How does the Distress Thermometer compare to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for detecting possible cases of psychological morbidity among cancer survivors? Supportive Care in Cancer, 21(1), 119–127.Google Scholar
Bruera, E., Kuehn, N., Miller, M.J., et al. (1991). The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS): A simple method for the assessment of palliative care patients. Journal of Palliative Care, 7(2), 6–9.Google Scholar
Butt, Z., Rosenbloom, S.K., Abernethy, A.P., et al. (2008). Fatigue is the most important symptom for advanced cancer patients who have had chemotherapy. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 6(5), 448–455.Google Scholar
Caponero, R., Mota, D.D.C.F. & Melo, A.G.C. (2010). Brazilian consensus of fatigue. Revista Brasileira de Cuidados Paliativos, 3(Suppl. 2), 1–31.Google Scholar
Cella, D., Peterman, A., Passik, S., et al. 1998). Progress toward guidelines for the management of fatigue. Oncology (Williston Park, N.Y.), 12(11A), 369–377.Google Scholar
Centeno, C., Portela Tejedor, M.A., Carvajal, A., et al. (2009). What is the best term in Spanish to express the concept of cancer-related fatigue? Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12(5), 441–445.Google Scholar
Glaus, A., Crow, R. & Hammond, S. (1996). A qualitative study to explore the concept of fatigue/tiredness in cancer patients and in healthy individuals. Supportive Care in Cancer, 4(2), 82–96.Google Scholar
Gledhill, J. (2005). A qualitative study of the characteristics and representation of fatigue in a French-speaking population of cancer patients and healthy subjects. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 9(4), 294–312.Google Scholar
Hauser, K., Rybicki, L. & Walsh, D. (2010). What's in a name? Word descriptors of cancer-related fatigue. Palliative Medicine, 24(7), 724–730.Google Scholar
Instituto Nacional do Câncer (2014). Cancer incidence in Brazil. Available from http://www.inca.gov.br/estimativa/2014/.Google Scholar
Ishikawa, N.M., Thuler, L.C., Giglio, A.G., et al. (2010). Validation of the Portuguese version of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Fatigue (FACT–F) in Brazilian cancer patients. Supportive Care in Cancer, 18(4), 481–490.Google Scholar
Laugsand, E.A., Sprangers, M.A., Bjordal, K., et al. (2010). Health care providers underestimate symptom intensities of cancer patients: A multicenter European study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 8, 104.Google Scholar
Messias, D.K., Yeager, K.A., Dibble, S.L., et al. (1997). Patients' perspectives of fatigue while undergoing chemotherapy. Oncology Nursing Forum, 24(1), 43–48.Google Scholar
Oh, H.S. & Seo, W.S. (2011). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the correlates of cancer-related fatigue. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 8(4), 191–201.Google Scholar
Pongthavornkamol, K., Olson, K., Soparatanapaisarn, N., et al. (2012). Comparing the meanings of fatigue in individuals with cancer in Thailand and Canada. Cancer Nursing, 35(5), E1–E9.Google Scholar
Reilly, C.M., Bruner, D.W., Mitchell, S.A. (2013). A literature synthesis of symptom prevalence and severity in persons receiving active cancer treatment. Supportive Care in Cancer, 21(6), 1525–1550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singer, S., Brown, A., Einenkel, J., et al. (2011). Identifying tumor patients' depression. Supportive Care in Cancer, 19(11), 1697–1703.Google Scholar
Stafford, L., Judd, F., Gibson, P., et al. (2013). Screening for depression and anxiety in women with breast and gynaecologic cancer: Course and prevalence of morbidity over 12 months. Psycho-Oncology, 22(9), 2071–2078.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Belle, S., Paridaens, R., Evers, G., et al. (2005). Comparison of proposed diagnostic criteria with FACT–F and VAS for cancer-related fatigue: Proposal for use as a screening tool. Supportive Care in Cancer, 13(4), 246–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zigmond, A.S. & Snaith, R.P. (1983). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67(6), 361–370.Google Scholar